If you’re someone who has a variety of online accounts, whether for your email, online banking, or social media, you may struggle to remember passwords. As such, you may have one password that you use across multiple accounts. Unfortunately, however, this can increase your risk of identity theft. If this is the case, you may have considered using a tool like a password manager. However, if you have concerns about the safety of your accounts when using these tools, the following blog explores what you should know about how these work, their safety, and the importance of connecting with a Michigan account takeover lawyer if you have reason to believe your identity has been compromised.
How Do Password Managers Protect My Online Accounts and Identity?
When you create an online account, you’ll likely have an easy-to-remember password in mind. However, when you use the same password across multiple accounts, it can increase the risk of your accounts being compromised.
A password manager will not only store all of your login information securely, but it can also generate unique, strong passwords to help reduce the risk that your accounts will be compromised. These systems work by storing all passwords in a vault that can be accessed with a single master password.
As such, in the event that one password is compromised in a hack or data breach, an identity thief would be unable to use this information to gain access to your other accounts, as all of your online accounts have unique, strong passwords.
Are They Safe to Use?
It’s important to understand that while many companies utilize special no-knowledge encryption, meaning the company itself can’t even access your passwords, and the information is encrypted before being sent to the cloud, no tool is 100% hacker-proof. As such, there is always a risk of a data breach or hack of your personal account, though these instances are rare.
If you are considering a password management tool, you may also want to consider enabling multi-factor authentication on your accounts. This creates a unique, one-time code that will be sent to your phone or email and is required to access the account. As such, even if your account is compromised, multi-factor authentication can add an extra layer of security to help prevent unauthorized users from accessing your accounts, even with your login information.
Using a password manager can be an incredibly beneficial tool to help protect your accounts and your identity. However, as mentioned, these tools are not 100% hack-proof, and as such, you may find that your identity can be compromised. In these instances, it’s imperative to connect with an experienced attorney to help guide you through these complicated legal matters. At Lyngklip & Associates, our firm will do everything in our power to help you navigate this process. Contact us today to learn more.
