How to Choose a Secure Password for Online Accounts

Passwords protect email, shopping, social media and many other online accounts. Weak or reused passwords can increase the impact of a data breach because one exposed credential may be tried on other services.

Use a long, unique password for each important account. Avoid predictable information such as names, birthdays, phone numbers or simple patterns. Length and uniqueness are generally more useful than making a short password unnecessarily complicated.

A reputable password manager can help generate and store unique passwords so you do not need to memorize every credential. Protect the password manager itself with a strong master password and use the security features it provides.

Enable multi-factor authentication when a service offers it. This adds another verification step and can provide additional protection if a password is exposed.

Never send passwords, one-time passwords or recovery codes through public forms or messages. Be cautious when a login page is opened from an unexpected email or message; verify the website address before entering credentials.

Good account security is a combination of unique passwords, additional authentication, software updates and careful handling of suspicious links.