by Kevin Slater, Lead Advisor & CEO

Last fall, we spoke with each of our clients about risk management. Each of the topics we discussed involved some level of ongoing monitoring, but there is one area that may need more frequent monitoring than others: Passwords.

In today's digital world, a major risk is having a bad actor tap into one or more of your many online accounts. This might be a financial account by which they could covertly steal funds or fraudulently take loans in your name.

Or it could be a social network or other account through which they could cause havoc, personal embarrassment, or hold information for ransom. In fact, it can be quite difficult to regain access to your accounts and prove your own identity.

Utilizing a commonly used password leaves your private information exposed. Hopefully, you aren’t using any of the passwords in this month’s chart!

THERE IS A BETTER (AND EASIER) WAY

You may have a bad habit of using the same password over and over again to avoid having to remember so many. However, if a hacker is able to access one account, they now have access to many when the password is used for multiple accounts. Each of your accounts should have its own unique password. Password managers enable you to quickly generate and store many more unique, complex passwords and easily update them.

If you aren’t using complex passwords or are not updating them regularly, please take action today. A few minutes of time now can save you hours of aggravation and thousands of dollars in damages. Here are some suggestions from the industry you might consider using:

PC Magazines’ Best Password Managers for 2025
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-password-managers

Wired’s Best Password Managers to Secure your digital life
https://www.wired.com/story/best-password-managers/