If you forget the password to your local account on your PC, all might seem lost, since there’s no one to email for a reset link. However, you can hedge against this possibility by creating a password reset disk beforehand. “Disk” is a misnomer; all you’ll need is a USB stick or SD Card. Simply […]

The hit video game “Fortnite” recently began providing rewards to players who set up two-factor authentication on their accounts. You should take this step on any service that provides it. That way, you’ll be safe even if someone gains access to your password and username.

There are multiple proven ways to make your passwords stronger, including the use of password managers to automatically generate and store all of your logins. Alternatively, you can take matters into your own hands by thinking of nonsensical phrases – e.g., “the Walrus and the Carpenter were preparing three pancakes!” and abbreviate it into a […]

This might seem like strange advice, but hear us out: If someone finds key details about you online, that information could help answer the security questions for accessing an important account. Considering lying on purpose to mislead would-be attackers. Alternatively, select opinion-based questions like “What is your favorite color?”

Do you ever connect to public Wi-Fi networks? A journey through any mall, office park or downtown corridor is sure to populate your phone’s Wi-Fi list with numerous wireless options, many of them not even requiring passwords for entry. If it seems like these networks are everywhere, it’s because they are: Cisco has estimated the […]

A dictionary attack entails repeated guesses of a password, drawn from common possibilities such as dictionary entries. A complex password can blunt these attacks by forcing them to cycle through possibilities for years. Additional protection is available by setting your device to erase itself after a certain number of wrong guesses. Make sure you’ve made […]