Thought this would be fun, light and well, very appropriate considering the WordPress “issues” going on as of late. What’s this, you aren’t aware of it? Well, I wasn’t either until some of my cohorts mentioned it. I guess it pays NOT to be popular??? I did have Askimet to keep away spammers, my password isn’t the same as my login and it isn’t very standard either, and then, maybe I was just lucky? So, it was recommended to get Wordfence or Threatscan for our WordPress sites. Anyways, that’s up to you on the security side of things, but I thought I could enlighten you and well, have some fun with the password side of things.
I found this article by Mashable which discussed this very thing and I had to share with you. Can you believe that the top used passwords were 123456, password, querty, iloveyou and monkey? I mean I’ve heard that you aren’t supposed to use your birth date, your kid’s birthdays, names of you or your children, but monkey or 123456.. that’s the best you could come up with? What about using admin as your login AND your password for your WordPress blog and/or webpage? I feel secure already, don’t you?
I’ve always read that it is a good idea to have different passwords for everything, but that is hard to remember, right? So, if you must (and I do too) use the same password, at least make it a good one, like #mulletheadRod! Use numbers, upper and lower case letters and even a symbol or two that is at least 8 characters long and that might work for most of them, again, if you must. I am not suggesting it, but I understand!
One last thing on WordPress and why they are such a target – Many people use WordPress and have plugins which are essentially an opportunity for leaks especially if you don’t update them all, as they are updated. Oh, and the other reason, people are just mean and do it because they can and are jerks.
So, as a reminder:
- update your site and plugins
- have good long logins and passwords
- maybe change them every so often to be on the safe side, and
- stay away from the jerks
I hope this has been fun and slightly educational. If you need any help optimizing your site so the search engines CAN find you, just you let me know. Otherwise, have a great one and remember – prevention is key.
~Kristen
Great reminders about how to use passwords. I inherited an expensive briefcase years ago. It had 3 separate 3 digit “passwords.” I spent some money to get into it – a locksmith. Sorry I hadn’t tried 123, 456 and 789. So this isn’t a new problem.
I know, right. I bet you thought… nobody would use 123, right? Such craziness. Hope it had nice goodies inside! 😉
mulletheadRod… hmm has a familiar ring to it! LOL! True article, lots of great ideas! great job! p
It does… doesn’t it? lol.. quite a bit of fun for today.
Great article!! I love your ideas and your thought process 😉
Thanks Daveda… a little fun for Hump Day! 😉
Great reminders!! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
I have my passwords on a schedule to change them so I don’t forget. Some are manual and some with reminders. Every site I have has a different password. Yeah, it makes me crazy, but if you have been hacked as I have in the past, it’s well worth the effort. Great post!
Wow… you are the busy beaver… a change schedule. You go girl! Most excellent.
Love this, and you are right, everything has a password nowadays and if you had a different one for everything would be impossible to remember them all.
So very true, especially with loyalty cards, memberships for EVERYTHING… it is so crazy! But that’s part of the marketing world we live in, right!
You’re right using so many different passwords can pose a challege remembering them all. I have a password-protected document where I keep track of them all!
Perfect idea, me too! Great job Crystal!
Ha! #MulletheadRod!, eh? Is it OK for me to use that one? I hear you re “don’t write down your passwords.” Seriously? When I was at the chamber of commerce, I had 42. 42 passwords! And you’re supposed to keep them all in your head, and associated with the right accounts? I don’t think so. There is one good way to keep your passwords secure; put them in a file on a secure site online. And then hope and pray you continue to have Internet access. Good one, Kristen, thanks for sharing.
Yes Jackie, you can us that pw, I won’t tell! lol Yea, well I do actually write mine down, in a spreadsheet that is pw protected but yes, I can understand the difficulty when having so many for EVERYTHING we do! Crazy huh? Thanks!
I use Last Pass Vault…it solved the password problem for me a long time ago…https://lastpass.com
Password vault… hmmm, need to revisit that one. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips, it’s good to know. I find it so hard to understand why people have to mess with everything and hack everything, ok but it’s done. At least it’s good to know that there are some ways to protect our sites. I will check if my plug ins are updated right now 🙂
You are so right Marita… there is no reason other than they are mean and just entertaining themselves. Sad huh?
Great article Kristen. I use a protected excel document to keep track of all the passwords I use. I definitely would not remember them all. Thanks for the reminder though.
Point well taken! The real website of Wordfence was so convincing! I went and added the protection like you! Yes, WordPress is under attack and we much be protected. I have a password software that tells me things, and now I will pay closer attention to it! Better safe than sorry!
I know, right Cheryl! Better safe than sorry!
When it comes to security and passwords, one of the biggest things on my end is making sure any passwords are long and unique. More importantly though is having a system for how to keep track of them 🙂
So very true and to include upper and lower case, numbers and symbols AND to have a place to record them that is also secure! Thanks Edmund
great, all day I’ll be thinking about a monkey named #mulletheadrod . My password is a word most people never think to use and then a number that’s meaningful to me. but I change it from time to time. great post!
So glad that I have left you with a lasting thought for today! At least it is light and fun, right? lol That’s great on your password.
Hi Kristin,
What a great article! I love humorous articles. I change my password quite often and if I don’t write it down somewhere I forget what I’ve changed it to. great tips!