Protect your passwords
If your passwords are sufficiently complex, they’re harder to guess, and they can help to protect your online accounts.
Our tips below help you to create a strong password and stay safe.
There are many simple things you can do to stay safe online.
Choosing a strong password is a good place to start. But you'll need to pick a different one for every account you own.
Password protection tips
- Create a strong password
- You can create a strong password by choosing three random words. To keep it safe from other people, do not share it or write it down.
- To make a password even harder to guess, you can add numbers or special characters and include a mix of upper and lower case letters. The longer the password, the stronger it is.
- Protect all of your accounts
- Your first line of defence is your email account. It can hold a lot of your personal details and be used to get into your other online accounts.
- If you don’t have one already, pick a new strong password for your email account. Then do the same for all your other accounts, like:
- Online banking account
- Social media accounts
- Save your passwords
- Use a different, strong password for each account you have. You can use your browser to help you remember them all.
- Your browser settings should let you save each password. Browser security is very good, so it’s a safe thing to do and makes it easier to log in.
- How extra security works
- If an account asks you to set security questions, try to avoid using personal details (these can be easier for other people to guess).