The times they are a-changin’

Password management is becoming a challenge, with the average internet user having around 70-80 passwords. However, only 34% respondents in our survey change their passwords regularly. The rest of us believe that there’s no need to regularly change passwords, and this is alarming. If your password is ever leaked, it will most likely appear in a breached database, which hackers love.

This could happen while you’re trying to reach your kids on an offbeat social media network or making a purchase on a suspicious-looking online store.

Our survey revealed that an alarming 57% of people aged 55 or older write down their passwords on a piece of paper. It might seem like a reasonable way to store your passwords, but there are a few risks involved. The first has to do with where you decide to store that sticky note. Leaving it on your desk is a security risk, as it would be easily accessible to pretty much anyone. There’s also the chance of losing that piece of paper or forgetting about it altogether. Happens to the best of us. And then you might also misspell it — a very human thing to happen.

Your best bet to keep your passwords secure and organized is using a password manager such as NordPass.

Put simply, reusing a password across different platforms poses a looming threat — one that could escalate quickly if a hacker compromised only one of your online accounts. Having stolen a reused password, the hacker could break into your other accounts and have unadulterated access to your emails, banking accounts, and social media profiles. What’s alarming is that 38% of those of us who reuse passwords feel safe doing so.

Unique passwords for each account is the way to go if we wish to live a secure and stress-free online life. Sometimes coming up with those weird complex passwords is a struggle. Simplify the task with a Password Generator, which will come up with strong, complex passwords in seconds.

Hackers and cybercrooks rarely target any particular individuals. In most instances, they don’t care who you are, what you do, or where you’re from. All they care about is your data, which includes your Social Security number, email address, passwords, and physical address. They seek such information hoping to monetize it. Too often we overlook the importance of our data and struggle to realize all the nefarious ways it can be used.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to check whether any of your sensitive information has ever appeared in a data leak.

A study we conducted unveiled that 11% of respondents between the ages 55 and 75 often need to share unprotected passwords via text messages, email, etc. Sure, an email is quick and convenient, especially when you want to pass on your Netflix password to your spouse. But it’s also risky. If a hacker intercepted the email, the password it contained would be out in the open.

There’s another way to share passwords, which is secure and easy. With a password manager like NordPass, you won’t ever have to fear exposing your passwords to hackers.