Protect Yourself & Your Business — Change Your Password!

UncategorizedTags: e-commerce, Fraud, Identity Theft, Internet Security, miva merchant, Passwords, SSL Certificates

When the Internet was born so were hackers and security threats.  Online security is such a complex issue and it can be rather challenging to wrap your head around the threats of credit card fraud, identity theft, phishing scams and all the preventative measures to control these things.  Surprisingly, one of the most overlooked ways to keep hackers at bay and protect your websites, email accounts, businesses, livelihoods and in extreme cases – your life, is making smart, well-informed decisions regarding your username and password.

For example, often times when a new web hosting account is created, the client will be provided with a generic log-in and password that can be easily ascertained by unauthorized users or programs.  It is imperative that the first thing a new client does is change this log-in information to something unique that no one else is aware of or can easily guess.

For online business owners – even if your site is secured by an SSL Certificate and is following the PCI Compliance guidelines, your customers’ confidential information such as credit card data, email and billing addresses can be compromised by a hacker that gains access to your databases.  This can all be avoided by simply changing your password to something that someone will have a serious problem trying to figure out.

The number one rule when choosing a password is to not choose the word “password” itself in any way (not even password1245).  Believe it or not, this is one of the top most careless mistakes made.  The second most common careless error is having your username and password be the same.  Even the most inexperienced hackers can figure these things out.

Also, passwords should never include the name of your site or business, your birthday or any other words commonly associated with you or your business.  For Miva Merchant storeowners, passwords should never be “miva,” “mivamerchant,” or the like.

When creating a password, it is important to use both upper and lowercase letters combined with numbers and symbols if allowed.  A strong username and password combination will keep you and your business safe!  Be smart!