Sick Of Remembering All Those Passwords? Try A Password Manager
CHICAGO (CBS) -- If you're becoming increasingly frustrated over the number of passwords you have to keep track in your life, an Internet security expert has some suggestions.
"The average password today is still 'password'", said Jerry Irvine, chief information officer and partner at Prescient Solutions.
Irvine said many people don't bother try to make it tough for hackers, mostly because people have to keep track of an average of 12 accounts with passwords.
He suggested getting a password manager app for your phone or computer app to help keep your passwords and information safe.
"Generally, they are 256k encryption, which is a type of encryption that the NSA has not even admitted that they have been able to hack yet," he said.
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Irvine said a few good password and credit card safety apps include Key Pass, e-wallet, Apple Pay Wallet, and Google Wallet.
Since people are often frustrated by passwords and user names, Irvine said many people use the same user name and password for every account.
"You're supposed to have a different user name and a different password for every account, and trying to remember those or write them down is just a bad idea," he said.
By going with an app that stores your passwords, Irvine said you then only have to remember one password – the one needed to get into the app.
"The important part is that password should be a strong 10 or more characters," he said.
Irvine said he also prefers a password app that does not store information in the cloud. He said that would make it easier for hackers to get into your information if you should choose not to set up a strong password for getting into that app.
