If you feel like you’ve been living your life online over the past year, you’re not alone. For many of us, work, school, and fun have all melded into one extensive digital ecosystem.
On the one hand, working remotely, schooling virtually, and connecting with others through social media or virtual meetings has given so many of us a necessary lifeline during a trying year.
But, on the flip side, it can feel like our families are constantly plugged in, leaving us frazzled, disorganized, and maybe even a bit anxious. You may be wondering if all that time spent online is unknowingly exposing your family to cyber threats and what you should be doing to keep everyone safe.
In honor of World Password Day, we’re offering a few simple but effective ways families can organize their digital lives and keep their household safe from cybercrime.
Give your passwords a safe home
Passwords can be hard to remember, and even though most people know better, they still make poor choices with their passwords, like using guessable passwords or using the same password across multiple accounts. Whatever the reason, your family needs to learn to break bad password habits and start using a password manager.
A password manager offers a safe, secure digital vault to store usernames and passwords. No matter what device you’re on, a password manager can back up and sync your passwords and other data for easy access, no matter where you are. Family members might need a little convincing — just be sure to listen to their concerns about using a password manager and clearly show them the benefits.
Round up your important information
It’s not just passwords that clutter up our digital lives. We need to keep track of all sorts of random information - like passcodes, PINs, security questions, account ID numbers, and backup codes.
You might just hastily jot those pieces of information down on Post-it notes, in a Google Doc, or a Note app on your phone. But there are some severe downsides to those options — like lack of backup, encryption, and added security options.
With a password manager, every family member can store these critical pieces of information in their vault. Not only is the data secured with bank-level encryption, but it also relieves that panicky feeling of “wait, where did I put that Post-it?”
Keep everyone in the loop
Once every family member stores all their passwords in their vault, many accounts need to be shared. Spouses might need to share logins for bills, utilities, and financials, while parents and children might need to share logins for social media, banking, school, and gaming.
Password sharing via a password manager is safe, encrypted, and convenient. Anyone who needs access to an account can be given the login, but parents can restrict permissions for the kids. Plus, if anyone ever needs to update a shared password, the change is automatically synced, so everyone has the latest updates.
Boost your family’s security this World Password Day
Security shouldn’t have to be complicated, and the easier you can make it for other family members, the more likely they are to follow along. The bulk of the frustration with passwords is eliminated with a password manager — no more forgetting passwords, or typing logins, or creating new passwords. 
