Usernames are essential for security and anonymity online. But some people come up with username ideas to stand out or align with a brand. Usernames can also help gain followers or build a social media following.
With so many possibilities, coming up with username ideas can be challenging! Luckily, there are plenty of tools and methods to create unique usernames.
Whether you're aiming for fame or privacy, we have username ideas to help you create unique usernames easily!
Using unique credentials (including passwords and usernames) can mitigate many cybersecurity vulnerabilities. When paired with a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager like TeamPassword</a>, strong usernames and passwords can protect you against attacks. Sign up for a 14-day free TeamPassword trial today!
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>Why You Need to Use Unique Usernames</h2>
There are several reasons people want unique usernames ideas:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Security</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anonymity</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Popularity</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Humor</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Business name ideas</li>
</ul>
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Unique Usernames for Security</h3>
Many people don't know about the importance of using unique or secure usernames for online security. Reusing usernames can be just as troublesome as <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-dont-reuse-passwords">reusing passwords</a>.
If criminals steal your credentials from a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/category/data-breaches">data breach</a>, they can use your username to figure out where else you have accounts and deploy spear-phishing attacks using fake correspondence to steal your credentials.
For example, hackers will send you a "password reset" from Instagram because they "suspect suspicious activity!" If you use unique usernames for every account, the attackers won't find your Instagram profile!
Don't think that you won't fall for these ploys! Many individuals with regular cybersecurity training fall victim to phishing attacks. Cybercriminals know that if they keep trying, they'll catch you when you're distracted or in a hurry.&nbsp;
In effect, unique usernames act as a second password, preventing anyone from finding your accounts with a single username.
What are some username mistakes that could put you at risk?
Don't use easy-to-guess information that could be found elsewhere on the web or sensitive info such as your social security or phone number.&nbsp;
<h4>What should not be included in a username so that it's secure?</h4>
<ol>
<li>
Personal Information: Avoid using any personal information such as your real name, date of birth, or address as part of your username.
</li>
<li>
Passwords or PINs: Do not use your passwords, PINs or other sensitive information as your username.
</li>
<li>
TMI: Do not include too much information that could potentially give away your identity, such as your phone number or email address.
</li>
<li>
Phishing Traps: Do not include any words or phrases that could be used in phishing attempts, such as "password", "admin", "login", etc.
</li>
</ol>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Unique Usernames for Anonymity</h3>
Aligned with security is anonymity. Maintaining anonymity online can protect you from cyberattacks and prevent work colleagues, clients, and other companies or individuals from finding you online.
Many people want to separate their professional profiles from their personal ones while maintaining an online presence. Using unique usernames can hide the profiles you prefer to keep private.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Unique Usernames for Fame, Popularity, Attention</h3>
A good Instagram username can help you stand out and boost your online presence. If your username is unique or obscure, it could lead to more profile clicks and followers.
A good example is French Connection UK or @FCUK. At first glance, the username looks like an expletive, drawing people's attention to the brand.
People often use made-up words, obscure combinations, and other naming conventions to grab attention online.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Unique Usernames for Humor</h3>
Humor is another reason people often want unique username ideas. For example, @PickledElephantTusk is sure to get people's attention and perhaps a chuckle at the ridiculousness.
Funny usernames are great for social media profiles, but you might want to avoid these if you're trying to aim for security or anonymity!
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Business Name Ideas</h3>
Most startups want a unique brand name, including URL and social media usernames. Startups can ensure that every digital touchpoint is unique to their brand by choosing an available unique username first.
While using the same username is necessary for branding on social media channels, companies should always choose different, unidentifiable usernames for non-public accounts&mdash;email marketing apps, keyword research tools, productivity tools, accounting apps, etc.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h2>How Can You Get Unique Usernames Ideas?</h2>
There are many places you go for unique username ideas. Here are a few of our best sources for inspiration:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pinterest</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Username generators</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Google Search - type a word and look through the autocompletes. This is also an excellent way to find trending usernames</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Instagram hashtags</li>
</ul>
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h2>Here are a Couple of Methods for Thinking of Great Usernames Ideas</h2>
If you're looking for inspiration, here are three methods for coming up with great username ideas. We've included processes for creativity, speed, and security.
<h3>Creating Your Own Unique Usernames</h3>
The best way to create unique username ideas is by combining two or three mismatched words with a number. First, come up with two or three categories, and then pick a word from each.
For example, let&rsquo;s choose the two categories fish, and US State:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">US State: Idaho</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fish: Pufferfish</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Number: 13</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">@IdahoPufferfish13</li>
</ul>
You can come up with funny and cute usernames using this method. It's also a fantastic creative exercise some people might find entertaining.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Use a Username Generator</h3>
If you don't want to waste time coming up with usernames yourself, a username generator is a fantastic option to create unique usernames fast!
Some username generator tools will let you add a prefix, suffix, or number and randomize the rest. This method works well if you're trying to find unique username ideas for a specific industry, like fitness, health, tech, etc.
Some username generators even provide a social media search function to see if your unique username is available on the relevant platforms&mdash;providing you speed and efficiency!
Random username generators are also excellent for security because you avoid familiarity, making it less likely for attackers to find you.
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Use a Password Generator</h3>
Password generators are great for creating unique username ideas. Password generators produce random strings with letters and numbers, significantly reducing the possibility of someone identifying you.
Try creating a username with TeamPassword's password generator:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Visit our <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">free password generator</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Deselect symbols (most platforms don't allow symbols in the username. Keep this selected if your platform does allow it!)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Our password generator only allows a minimum of 12 characters. If you need a shorter user name, drop the characters you don't need</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Copy/paste your random username to use when signing up for a new account</li>
</ol>
Remember to use our password generator with uppercase, lowercase, symbols, and numbers to create a secure unique password.&nbsp;
TeamPassword's password manager features a built-in password generator that suggests and pastes a strong password into forms during signup or resets. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a free 14-day free trial</a> to start managing your usernames and passwords securely.
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>How You Can Secure Your Accounts Using a Password Manager</h2>
Usernames and passwords are the keys to your individual and company accounts. These credentials prevent attackers from breaching your devices, networks, social media, apps, financial services, and more.
Most companies have hundreds of accounts requiring authentication daily. Often team members need to share access, especially for social media, research tools, productivity apps, store accounts, and marketing tools, to name a few.
<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/secure-password-sharing">Sharing credentials</a> over email, chat, or via spreadsheets exposes your company, clients, employees, and users to many cybersecurity risks. In some states and countries, sharing passwords this way is illegal!
Using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager</a> is a secure and efficient way to store and share your company's credentials.
Here are five reasons to choose TeamPassword for your company:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Affordable - Enterprise-grade password managers are often expensive. TeamPassword provides small businesses, agencies, and startups with an affordable password management solution.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Secure - TeamPassword is an <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-password-encryption-and-how-much-is-enough">accredited secure hosting provider</a> using state-of-the-art encryption technology. We store your passwords using AES-256, trusted by US government agencies and many other organizations globally.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Efficient - Share and revoke access in TeamPassword with a single click. Quickly create passwords using our built-in <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">secure password generator</a>.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Scalable - TeamPassword's plans scale with your business. Start with as few as five members and upgrade your plan as your workforce expands.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Flexible - Employees can sign into accounts using TeamPassword's Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browser extensions&mdash;catering to both Apple and Windows users.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h2>Password Management With TeamPassword</h2>
TeamPassword makes it easy and secure to share credentials with employees, clients, freelancers, and contractors. Everyone gets a separate TeamPassword login to manage access and monitor activity.
TeamPassword encrypts your passwords, making it impossible for employees (or even TeamPassword staff) to preview raw credentials.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Sharing Access With Groups</h3>
Add your team to TeamPassword and create groups to share access to your various accounts. If an employee, contractor, or freelancer leaves the team, simply remove them from the group&mdash;no need to worry about changing passwords!
If you're an agency working with multiple clients and accounts, one TeamPassword account is all you need! Just increase your plan accordingly.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Activity Logging</h3>
Keep track of TeamPassword activity, just like an enterprise password manager does. Monitor logins, password changes, credential sharing, and more to spot suspicious activity.
TeamPassword also lets you set up email notifications&mdash;helpful in monitoring sensitive accounts or specific actions, like sharing or adding new users.
&nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)</h3>
Enabling 2FA on your TeamPassword account prevents attackers from gaining access, even if they steal your employee's username and password.
TeamPassword uses the Google Authenticator app (iOS &amp; Android), requiring a six-digital randomly generated code as the second authentication step. Without the employee's device, hackers can't complete TeamPassword authentication.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h2>Start With a Free Trial</h2>
Coming up with unique username ideas isn't enough to protect your company's digital assets from attack. Protect your company's usernames and passwords with <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword</a>.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> to test our robust and efficient sharing features with your team today!

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames and give you the best username ideas out there.

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why ...

Username ideas to make your logins more secure

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Best types of usernames: username ideas to make your logins more secure

What exactly is biometric Identification? What is the technology behind it and how is it used to protect your personal/professional data?

What exactly is biometric Identification? what is the technology behind it and how is it used to protect ...

Biometric Identification: What Is It? (A 2023 Review)

What exactly is biometric Identification? what is the technology behind it and how is it used to protect your personal/professional data?

You&rsquo;d be surprised how many businesses still haven&rsquo;t updated their software to the most recent, secure versions or how many don&rsquo;t even have antivirus software installed on their computers. If you manage employees, it&rsquo;s crucial that you understand the risks they face and how you can protect them from cyber threats.&nbsp;

Many different things could lead to <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/cybersecurity-the-most-important-topic-your-team-can-learn-about-this-year">potential security risks</a> for your business. Here are 5 of the biggest cybersecurity mistakes you should avoid to keep your company safe from cyber threats:
<h2>1. Failing to Train Employees on Cybersecurity</h2>
One of the most important things you can do as a manager is to <a href="https://www.chanty.com/blog/security-best-practices-for-remote-teams/">train your staff on cybersecurity</a>. This means they understand the risks they face and how to mitigate them.&nbsp;

You don&rsquo;t want to scare them, but you want to make sure they know how to protect themselves and the company from cyber threats. This can include understanding the latest <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/cybersecurity-complete-guide">hacking techniques</a> and how they&rsquo;re used to target businesses like yours, how ransomware works, how to avoid phishing (a common method hackers use to try to steal data), and more.&nbsp;

You can even ask your IT department to create a cybersecurity training module that all employees can access. This can help ensure that everyone knows the latest threats and knows what to do if something happens. Plus, it can help prevent employees from panicking when an incident does occur.
<h2>2. Using Outdated Hardware and Not Updating Software</h2>
If your employees use outdated hardware and software, that may put your business at risk. For example, if they&rsquo;re using computers with Windows 7, security patches for that version have stopped being released. That means that hackers could easily exploit any bugs that might be present in the software.&nbsp;

You don&rsquo;t want computers with outdated software on your network. This could increase your risk of malware infections and other security incidents. If possible, you should provide employees with the newest hardware and software.&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;re managing a large business, replacing every computer in the company might not be feasible. However, you can ensure your IT team is putting in the effort to keep computers secure. This means installing security patches and updating antivirus software regularly.
<h2>3. Not Changing Passwords</h2>
Employees might have habits that could put your company at risk. For example, some employees might have old habits from their personal lives, such as refusing to change their passwords. Or, they might be using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/top-5-dangerous-ways-to-store-your-passwords">password that&rsquo;s easy to guess</a>.&nbsp;

Hackers know that many people don&rsquo;t change their passwords regularly, so they try to target people who use the same password. If they get access to one of your employee&rsquo;s accounts, they can use it to try to get access to a lot of other accounts. You don&rsquo;t want this to happen to your business.&nbsp;

Make sure that all of your employees change passwords regularly. Ideally, they should be changing them every month. Consider implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) on your sensitive accounts. This means that employees must enter a unique code and <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">their password </a>to log in. 2FA makes it much harder for hackers to break into their accounts.
<h2>4. Storing Sensitive Data in the Cloud Without Encryption</h2>
If you&rsquo;re using the cloud for storage, you might have employees storing sensitive data there. While this can be useful for sharing documents with clients and partners, you must also ensure that information is safe. Some <a href="https://blog.internxt.com/best-private-cloud-storage/">cloud providers</a>, like Internxt, let you encrypt your data.&nbsp;

You could risk your business if you&rsquo;re storing sensitive data in the cloud without encryption. Hackers could access it if they get into the cloud account, which is very relevant to SaaS businesses and can be one of the <a href="https://blog.coupler.io/saas-challenges">SaaS management challenges</a>. This could lead to a breach that has severe financial and reputational consequences for your business.&nbsp;

You want to ensure you&rsquo;re storing sensitive data in the cloud with encryption. This way, even if a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/cybersecurity-complete-guide">hacker gets into your account</a>, they won&rsquo;t be able to read your data. Some providers also charge less if you encrypt your data. So, it could actually be cheaper to use encryption than not.
<h2>5. Having No Processes for Detecting Breaches and Incidents</h2>
Another type of common cybersecurity mistake does not have processes in place to detect breaches and incidents. You might have employees who are logging in from unsecured computers. Or computers that have malware, viruses, or other programs installed that could lead to a breach. You might not even realize something has gone wrong until it&rsquo;s too late.
&nbsp;
You might have employees accidentally sharing sensitive material with the wrong person. Or someone who inadvertently sends sensitive information to the wrong person. You might have an employee falsifying data, or another malicious employee could be trying to frame someone else. You don&rsquo;t want to miss any of these things.&nbsp;

You want to make sure you&rsquo;re prepared for them so you can resolve the situation as quickly as possible. To do this, you can create a list of events you want to be aware of, such as a new computer being added to your network or someone logging in from an unusual IP address.
<h2>Managing Employees While Protecting Your Company Online</h2>
Finally, while you want to protect your business from cybersecurity mistakes, you also don&rsquo;t want to create a culture of fear. You don&rsquo;t want employees to be so scared of making a mistake that they stop taking any action at all.&nbsp;

Instead, make sure that you&rsquo;re providing resources for employees to learn about cybersecurity. And encourage them to ask questions if they don&rsquo;t understand something. You can also provide employees with the tools they need to protect themselves online.<a href="https://teampassword.com/features"> Password managers</a> are one of the best tools available to protect teams from cybersecurity threats. Also consider security services like antivirus software, a <a href="https://internxt.com/virus-scanner">virus scanner</a>, a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">password strength checker</a>, or an add-on to help them avoid phishing attempts.&nbsp;

You must protect your company from cybersecurity mistakes, and you can only do so by being aware of the risks and putting in the effort to make sure those risks don&rsquo;t become real problems.
 Author bio: Mia Naumoska is a Chief Marketing Officer at <a href="https://internxt.com/">Internxt</a> - the world's most secure cloud storage. With over a decade of experience in marketing, Mia is responsible for Internxt&rsquo;s overall marketing strategy, managing a fantastic team of marketing experts. Feel free to connect with Mia on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mianaumoska/">LinkedIn</a>.

If you manage employees, it’s crucial that you understand the risks they face and how you can protect them from cyber threats.

If you manage employees, it’s crucial that you understand the risks they face and how you can protect ...

5 Cybersecurity Mistakes Every Boss Should Be Aware Of In 2023

If you manage employees, it’s crucial that you understand the risks they face and how you can protect them from cyber threats. You’d be surprised how many businesses still haven’t updated their software or how many don’t have antivirus software installed on their computers.

<div class="">
Passwords are the gateways to our internet accounts and are the first line of defense for your company&rsquo;s data. Think about what information is held within your company computers and accounts: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for your customers (including name, phone number, address, and email) and PCI data (credit card and banking information). This information is extremely valuable, and small businesses like yours are <a href="https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8231-small-business-cybersecurity-guide.html" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">regularly targeted&nbsp;</a>by cybercriminals. Passwords are a common vector since once you crack or obtain one, it is trivial for a hacker to export all of the data on the account.
<h3 class="pd-sh-color pd-sh-color-black">There are two big reasons you should be using a password manager:</h3>
1) Industry standard recommendations require strong, unique passwords. Generally speaking the longer the password, the harder it is to crack. It's also important not to use common words one can find in the dictionary. (You can read more from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency <a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST04-002" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">here</a>). Ideally, your passwords look like this: "39)*Q$bU%ER%#ZsBew*Ai0HRIV25XiLl&rdquo; (this one was just auto-generated from a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password generator</a> in 2 mouse clicks).&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/FuBMN80dSwCmrWBIJTjl" width="996" height="328" />
2) You need to remember that long, complex password for every site you visit. Would you rather store them in an encrypted database that only you can decrypt or in a spreadsheet or notebook that can be lost or stolen? &nbsp;Some businesses go the route of using shared spreadsheets like Google Sheets. But his has a <a href="https://blog.teampassword.com/the-risks-of-storing-your-passwords-in-google-sheets/" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">number of issues as well</a>&nbsp;since you have to carefully set up access controls, manage different groups, and track when people make changes. These are all intuitive functions of a password manager.
3) You&rsquo;ll have to share a password with a colleague in many scenarios. Most people would just send an email with the login information. It gets the job done, but it&rsquo;s not the safest way. TeamPassword allows you to share logins without potentially compromising data.&nbsp;
<h3 class="pd-sh-color pd-sh-color-black">Are password managers easy to use?</h3>
These are the big security and management reasons, but there are a lot of<a href="https://blog.teampassword.com/why-all-businesses-should-use-a-team-password-manager/" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;intangible benefits</a>:
1) Productivity: How many times a day are you trying to remember passwords or answering questions from colleagues that are trying to get into shared accounts? This is instant and intuitive with TeamPassword.&nbsp;
2) Avoiding Extra Accounts: It's easy to forget about the subscriptions you're paying for. When you have one spot for all of your company accounts, it's easier to keep track of what tools or software systems you are and aren't using.&nbsp;
3) Speeding up Secure Onboarding and Off-Boarding: OneLogin's 2019 study revealed that 50% of ex-employees still had access to company data, and 20% of businesses experienced data breaches due to former employees. With a password manager, you can create groups (marketing, accounting, etc.) and easily share and revoke access as employees come and go.
In the end, cybersecurity products don't directly contribute to revenue so they can be hard to justify when you purely look at cost-- in that way they're like insurance. According to an IBM <a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">study</a>, the average cost per record lost in a breach is $150, which adds up quickly&mdash;the loss of 100 customer data records would be $15,000 (which more than covers the cost of a password manager). But this usually requires investigation and remediation, costing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/13/cyberattacks-cost-small-companies-200k-putting-many-out-of-business.html" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">small businesses up to $200,000</a>. If you have California Customers, their data is protected by the CCPA (check your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mypillow.com/california-consumer-privacy-act" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">website</a>), which can fine businesses $2500 per record for an&nbsp;unintentional violation. Each state has its own specific rules, so it's helpful to check an <a href="https://iapp.org/resources/article/state-comparison-table/" class="" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">overview of data privacy and security laws</a> by state,
</div>
<div class="">
<article class="single-article">
<div class="single-article-content">
<h3>A Password Manager Can Help</h3>
Password managers, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword</a>, enable users to create strong passwords and access them without remembering 16 randomized digits. By making it easy for users to comply with the most stringent password security measures, you keep your business and your customers safer. Start <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bcms#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">protecting your teams now with TeamPassword</a>!
</div>
</article>
</div>

Passwords are the gateways to our internet accounts and the first line of defense for your company’s data. How are you protecting yours?

Passwords are the gateways to our internet accounts, and are the first line of defense for your company’s ...

Why Password Managers are a Need and not a Want

Passwords are the gateways to our internet accounts, and are the first line of defense for your company’s data. Think about what information is held within your company computers and accounts: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for your customers (including name, phone number, address, email) and PCI data (credit card and banking information).

Passwords are a fact of life in the digital age.&nbsp;
We all know <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/variety-is-the-spice-of-life-and-the-key-to-security" style="color: #40d8e3;">the perils of using one password</a> for all our accounts. (It&rsquo;s basically like unlocking every room and safe in your house and then leaving the front door wide open.) However, creating unique and strong passwords for every account can be overwhelming.&nbsp;
Third-party password managers are a safe choice. Internet browsers are another popular option. Chrome is an internet browser that Google created and released in 2008. Initially designed for Windows XP, Chrome is now compatible with any platform, including Macs, PCs, and all types of mobile devices.&nbsp;
In 2022, Chrome dominated the global desktop web browser game, claiming nearly 70 percent of the market share. Its popularity is mainly due to its ease of use and customization options, such as extensions for ad blockers, language translators, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Google Chrome has made it easy to save and store your passwords in your browser, so you never have to remember them or type them in manually. Plus, it&rsquo;s free and already at your fingertips.&nbsp;
But is this method of storing your passwords secure? Here is all you need to know about Chrome password safety.&nbsp;
<h2>Is Google Chrome Password Manager Safe?</h2>
While better than having no password manager, Chrome password safety could be better. One of the most significant Chrome password security issues is that Chrome wasn't built to be a password manager. It's an added feature&mdash;an afterthought. Chrome was solely constructed and optimized to be a web browser.&nbsp;
For this reason, Chrome password safety will never be on par with what a dedicated password manager can offer.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s like the difference between buying a croissant from your local coffee shop and buying a croissant from a patisserie owned by a baker trained in France.&nbsp;
Specialization produces a superior product, whether it&rsquo;s pastries or password managers.&nbsp;
But Chrome&rsquo;s password security issues go deeper.
<h2>Chrome Passwords Are Basic and Fixed&nbsp;</h2>
One of the basic features of Chrome passwords is that it offers to create "strong" passwords, a long series of letters, numbers, and characters that would be nearly impossible for a human to guess offhand.&nbsp;
The problem is that although these passwords look complex, they usually need to be corrected, and you need the option to customize them. You can't make them longer, add more characters, or do anything beyond giving Google permission to submit and save its suggestions.&nbsp;
Regarding password safety, Chrome forces you to take the passenger seat while it drives, all in the name of convenience.&nbsp;
Is the trade-off between control and convenience worth it? The short answer is no.&nbsp;
<h2>Can Google Password Manager Be Hacked?</h2>
We saved the biggest problem with Chrome password safety for last.&nbsp;
When you use Chrome passwords, or any browser-based password manager for that matter, getting access to your accounts is as simple as gaining access to your device.&nbsp;
Anyone who lays hands on your device at the office, the cafe, or the subway (if you accidentally leave your briefcase behind) can access every account you have saved in Chrome passwords.&nbsp;
This leaves you wide open to being hacked.&nbsp;
Most of us sync our Chrome accounts across devices. It&rsquo;s easy to forget which devices have access. Check that <a href="https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3067630?hl=en" style="color: #40d8e3;">here</a>.&nbsp;
A <a href="https://teampassword.com/" style="color: #40d8e3;">dedicated password manager</a> protects you by requiring you to log in with a separate &ldquo;master&rdquo; password. It automatically locks your passwords after a specific amount of time has passed.&nbsp;
<h2>How Does Chrome Create and Store Passwords?</h2>
The convenience of Google Chrome is what hooks most users. It's free and doesn't require installation.&nbsp;
Here&rsquo;s how it works. The first time you enter a password on a new website, Chrome will send a prompt that asks if you want to save it. You can choose &ldquo;Save&rdquo; or &ldquo;Not Now.&rdquo;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/9ap7QrePRexD7BPrPvFs" width="320" height="295" />
For many people, that little pop-up is a welcome sight. They click &ldquo;Save&rdquo; and sigh in relief that they don&rsquo;t have to commit the password to memory or record it somewhere, which can make it vulnerable to loss or theft.&nbsp;
However, the relief they feel is somewhat misplaced.&nbsp;
<h2>Is a Dedicated Password Manager Worth It?&nbsp;</h2>
This is a choice that only you can make. Consider the following scenario if you&rsquo;re unsure about disabling Chrome passwords and switching to a dedicated password manager.&nbsp;
Imagine what would happen if your passwords were compromised. You wake up one day, and without warning, you can no longer access your email (your personal and work accounts), your online banking, your usual online shopping sites, your stored cloud data, or your social media accounts. Everything is locked away and out of your reach.&nbsp;
Or worse, <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/have-i-been-hacked-how-to-know-for-sure" style="color: #40d8e3;">you don&rsquo;t know you&rsquo;ve been hacked</a> until later when you get a huge credit card bill or something else that reveals someone stole your identity.&nbsp;
This would be a life-altering event, wouldn&rsquo;t it? Trying to undo the consequences would be extremely costly in time and money.&nbsp;
A password manager can prevent this kind of upheaval from happening to you. And while password managers aren&rsquo;t free like Google Chrome, they are well worth the investment.&nbsp;
<h2>An Alternative That Doesn&rsquo;t Share Chrome&rsquo;s Password Security Issues</h2>
TeamPassword offers a fast, safe, and easy solution for storing and managing your passwords that doesn&rsquo;t leave you vulnerable to Chrome password security issues. Another plus is that TeamPassword has a Chrome extension that holds all your personal and company login information. And even if someone has access to your device, they cannot get through to your TeamPassword account without knowing your master password and having access to your Google Authenticator.&nbsp;
TeamPassword is an app dedicated to cybersecurity. Passwords aren&rsquo;t just an extra feature; it&rsquo;s all we do.&nbsp;
An additional feature is our <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" style="color: #40d8e3;">password generator</a> and password strength tester. Our customizable password generator is the way to go if you are stuck trying to create a password. You could also test to see if your current passwords are secure. It&rsquo;ll also give you an estimate of how long it&rsquo;ll take to be hacked.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/U5f1HACnQ02Us7NjHlMT" width="796" height="264" />
Create and customize strong passwords you can use with any browser or device, and access all your passwords whenever and wherever you need them.&nbsp;
With TeamPassword, your passwords are secure, even if your device falls into the wrong hands.&nbsp;
With all that being said, while using the Chrome password manager seems more convenient, it&rsquo;s not the most secure way to hold your passwords.&nbsp;

Are Chrome passwords really safe? Learn about the Chrome password security issues you need to know to protect yourself and your privacy.

Are Chrome passwords really safe? Learn about the Chrome password security issues you need to know to protect ...

Are Chrome Passwords Safe?

Is Google Chrome Password Manager Safe? (Updated for 2023)

<div class="blog-content">
Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access to over&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">847 million exposed passwords</a>&nbsp;in the public domain, hackers can easily to steal identities, credit card numbers and commit other types of fraud without the need for complex password crackers. If you use the same password for multiple accounts and haven&rsquo;t updated it in years, you could become a victim!
Let&rsquo;s take a look at five steps to ensure that your passwords effectively secure your online accounts.
<h2 id="step-1-create-strong-passwords">Step 1: Create Strong Passwords</h2>
You can probably guess some of the most common passwords that appear in security breaches: &ldquo;123456&rdquo;, &ldquo;password&rdquo;, &ldquo;12345&rdquo;, &ldquo;12345678&rdquo;, and &ldquo;qwerty&rdquo;. Of course, criminals can guess these passwords just as easily and many online accounts are quickly compromised with these simple guesses &mdash; no need for a password cracker.
Most experts advise you to create passwords that:
<ul>
<li>Have a minimum of 12 characters.</li>
<li>Include numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase letters.</li>
<li>Aren&rsquo;t dictionary words or combinations of dictionary words.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t rely on obvious substitutions, e.g. &ldquo;passw0rd&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
The problem is that passwords like &ldquo;x$tg@8EmW[%9=Af`&rdquo; are impossible for anyone to remember &mdash; at least without a photographic memory.
The good news is that you can generate strong and memorable passwords by combining four or more random words that aren&rsquo;t in any grammatically correct order. These words make sense to humans, but since the password is longer, it takes longer for a computer to guess the phrase than a shorter sequence of random characters.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/vkkTMPIYTAmgtSZSdmOS" />
<hr />
<h2 id="step-2-use-different-passwords">Step 2: Use Different Passwords</h2>
Most people (54%) use five or fewer passwords across their entire online life, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246902" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeleSign survey</a>. When averaging all 2,000 users in the survey, researchers found that people use only six unique passwords to guard 24 online accounts. A single data breach would give hackers everything they need to get into several different accounts.
You can avoid these security issues by using different passwords for different accounts.
For example, your bank account passwords should be different from your social media account passwords. That way, if a social media service is compromised, hackers couldn&rsquo;t use the same passwords to access your bank accounts.
Of course, the biggest challenge with using different passwords is remembering them all.
Again, password managers make it easy to keep all of these passwords in one place behind a master password. You can then easily use different passwords for different accounts without having to remember them all.
It&rsquo;s also a good idea to use different usernames across these accounts.
If you have the same username, it&rsquo;s even easier for hackers to try logging into many different services to try and gain access. Usernames don&rsquo;t have to be completely random, but they should be difficult to randomly guess.
<h2 id="step-3-regularly-update-passwords">Step 3: Regularly Update Passwords</h2>
TeleSign&rsquo;s survey&nbsp;found that 21% of people use passwords that are over 10 years old and 47% of people use passwords that are at least five years old. These stale passwords are a major security risk that most people fail to appreciate.
The growing number of data breaches means that many of these old passwords have been exposed to hackers.
According to&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">HaveIBeenPwned</a>, there have been more than 847 million real word passwords exposed in data breaches, including many that are paired with email addresses.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/03ymKgZrT3maVIpzmp1S" width="979" height="505" />
You can search the database to see if your email address and/or password have been compromised at:&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">https://haveibeenpwned.com</a>.
It&rsquo;s a good idea to update your passwords on a regular basis, such as quarterly or yearly. For example, you might update your banking password when you do your taxes each year or update your social media passwords at the beginning of each year.
<h2 id="step-4-use-two-factor-authentication">Step 4: Use Two-Factor Authentication</h2>
Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, provides an extra layer of security above and beyond a password. If you&rsquo;re using a service that offers 2FA, it&rsquo;s a good idea to set it up to prevent the vast majority of cybersecurity attacks.
There are several different types of 2FA:
<ul>
<li>Hardware tokens are key fob-like devices that produce a new numeric code every 30 seconds. When accessing your account, you can glance at the device to get the code and enter it. These are common at many workplaces.</li>
<li>Software tokens are similar codes created with apps with Google or Microsoft apps connected to your account. When accessing an account, you open the app to get the code, and then enter the code to access the account.</li>
<li>SMS messages can be used to send a one-time unique passcode after attempting to login. Without access to the user&rsquo;s phone, hackers cannot mimic these unique passcodes, which makes them extra secure.</li>
</ul>
2FA goes a long way in protecting accounts with an extra layer of security, but they&rsquo;re not invulnerable to attack.
For example, a hacker could trick you into providing a 2FA code that they could turn around and use. Or, a hacker may have already compromised your Google or Microsoft accounts. It&rsquo;s important to use a wider&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/10-easy-cybersecurity-strategies-for-small-businesses" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">cybersecurity strategy</a>&nbsp;to prevent these issues from occurring.
<h2 id="step-5-securely-share-passwords">Step 5: Securely Share Passwords</h2>
Many small businesses need to share passwords between employees. While some apps may support many users under a single organization, others only support a single login or may charge extra fees for each additional user. Small businesses that don&rsquo;t want to pay for extra seats or only have a few employees may be tempted to share account access.
Unfortunately, many businesses store these passwords on a shared Google Sheet or spreadsheet with communal access. This approach is very risky because it only takes a single user account to be compromised to expose all of your business&rsquo;s passwords and accounts!
<a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword</a>&nbsp;is designed to make it easy to securely share passwords between team members. Even better, the software works as a password manager to auto-populate passwords where required and easily generate and remember secure passwords for new sign-ups. You can even view logs to see who has accessed certain passwords.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how it works!</a>
<h2 id="the-bottom-line">The Bottom Line</h2>
Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. By keeping these tips in mind, you can minimize the odds of becoming a victim of a security breach and save yourself from hours of pain and thousands of dollars of possible losses.
<hr /></div>

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, so don't treat them as an afterthought. Here are 5 key steps to keep your passwords safe.

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access ...

5 Steps to Make Secure Passwords

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access to over 550 million exposed passwords in the public domain, hackers can easily to steal identities, credit card numbers and commit other types of fraud without the need for complex password crackers. ...

Your Passwords Aren’t Safe Unless You’re Taking These 5 Steps

<h2 id="are-your-employees-helping-to-keep-company-data-protected-and-secure">Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure?</h2>
Unfortunately,&nbsp;data breach fatigue&nbsp;has become so common in the past 15 years, that most consumers and employees do not even react to news of a data breach. This means that employees often aren&rsquo;t doing what they could to keep the privacy of their business intact.
With over 80 percent of data breaches arising from password issues, investing in a password manager, like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/features">TeamPassword</a>, can ensure that passwords are protected.
<h2 id="7-signs-you-need-a-password-manager">7 Signs You Need a Password Manager</h2>

If you&rsquo;re trying to figure out whether a password manager is worth the investment (hint: it is!), here are seven signs you definitely do.
<h3 id="1-you-have-poor-password-hygiene">1. You have&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/stop-cybercriminals-in-their-tracks-with-these-5-password-hygiene-tips" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">poor password hygiene</a></h3>
Do you use the same password for every single log-in? Does your password contain personally identifiable information such as your birthday or child&rsquo;s name? Are you frequently told that your password strength is very weak or even so-so?
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/KJGCFoxS3GH2oFFda9dg" alt="" width="563" height="624" />
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your password hygiene could definitely use some freshening up! Most password managers have password generators that will create random, secure and unique passwords for you. With a good password generator, you can say goodbye to weak passwords forever.
<h3 id="2-you-experience-password-fatigue">2. You experience password fatigue</h3>
The average email address has nearly 130 online accounts assigned to it. No one can possibly remember that many passwords and most people are too tired to even attempt it. This cognitive overload is what leads to poor password hygiene in the first place!
If only there was a single location for all of your passwords &mdash; like&nbsp;a password manager.
<h3 id="3-you-waste-time-everyday-actually-typing-out-your-password">3. You waste time everyday actually typing out your password</h3>
In our&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/ponemons-state-of-password-security-recap" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">recap of Ponemon&rsquo;s State of Password Security</a>, we underscored one of their key findings: managing passwords (as employees) is costly. The average respondent spends about 12 minutes per week entering and/or resetting passwords. For organizations with 15,000 employees, this translates to an average cost of $5.2 million per year in lost productivity and still produces significant sums that most&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/cybersecurity-for-small-businesses" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">small businesses</a>&nbsp;can&rsquo;t afford.
Password managers make accessing passwords exceptionally easy using browser extensions other mechanisms that allow you to automatically fill login credentials in just a few clicks.
<h3 id="4-you-are-tired-of-seeing-the-incorrect-invalid-password-notice">4. You are tired of seeing the incorrect/invalid password notice</h3>
No one likes red text or hazard signs. They often signal danger and/or that you&rsquo;ve done something wrong &mdash; two things we would prefer to avoid in life. The pains of forgetting a password,&nbsp;or even worse,&nbsp;resetting your password&nbsp;yet again,&nbsp;is also something we try to avoid.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/7JvxDHxYRRM4gv1UMehU" alt="" width="686" height="371" />
Avoid these frustrating notices by keeping all your secure information in one place.
<h3 id="5-you-have-to-ask-a-coworker-for-a-password">5. You have to ask a coworker for a password</h3>
Are you Slacking a coworker to ask for login credentials and pinning it to the conversation for future reference? Or are you emailing somebody to ask for a shared password? Maybe you&rsquo;re the one being asked and you have to change your passwords every time after you lend them out.
This not only costs you time during your work day, it also slows down your co-worker&rsquo;s productivity. More importantly, this type of sharing (especially over email) puts your business in an extremely vulnerable position when distributing information as sensitive as passwords.
<h3 id="6-there-s-a-shared-company-document-spreadsheet-with-shared-passwords">6. There&rsquo;s a shared company document/spreadsheet with shared passwords</h3>
While this&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-risks-of-storing-your-passwords-in-google-sheets" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">scrappy method</a>&nbsp;may have been the most efficient way to centralize your team&rsquo;s passwords in the past, it can leave your company vulnerable. If the shared settings are accidentally misconfigured or someone&rsquo;s individual account is hacked, all of your passwords are in one visible and easily downloadable place for the attacker. Keep in mind that not every employee needs access to the same passwords. These types of files don&rsquo;t lend themselves very well to that level of customization.
That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s important to make sure that your password management solution utilizes&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-with-2fa#:~:text=The%20Concept%20Behind%202FA" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">two-factor authentication</a>&nbsp;and advanced grouping and sharing capabilities.
<h3 id="7-you-save-passwords-in-your-browser">7. You save passwords in your browser</h3>
Everyone is responsible for managing their own saved passwords and can save time logging into their most frequented sites. Another resourceful workaround that seems like a low-cost solution for small teams, right? Unfortunately, no.
<ul>
<li>This only works if you only work on one device. Logging onto a phone or tablet or your personal laptop? You&rsquo;ll be back at sign 4.</li>
<li>If your computer is stolen, the thief will be able to login to any site where you have saved passwords turned on.</li>
<li>Leaving employees to their own devices when it comes to password management often replicates signs 1-6.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="next-steps">Next steps</h2>
Did any of these signs sound familiar? Perhaps even painfully familiar? Dealing with any of these password headaches can be a cost to your company&rsquo;s budget, productivity, and most importantly, security.
<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/">TeamPassword</a>&nbsp;is here to support and relieve you from these types of concerns. A simple, secure password manager, designed from the ground up with ease-of-use and collaboration in mind can protect your company from data breaches and your employees from password fatigue.
Get TeamPassword today!&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Try our free 14-day trial.</a>

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Learn the seven reasons you should be using a password manager.

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Unfortunately, data breach fatigue has become so ...

Seven Signs You Need a Password Manager

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Unfortunately, data breach fatigue has become so common in the past 15 years, that most consumers and employees do not even react to news of a data breach. This means that employees often aren’t doing what they could to keep the privacy of their business intact. With over 80 percent of data breaches arising from password issues, investing in a password manager, like TeamPassword, can ensure that passwords are protected.

Team Password Blog | Category cybersecurity | Page 1

So you think hackers have stolen your password? You're not the only one. 
Perhaps you've noticed strange activity on your email account or frequent pop-ups on your computer. Perhaps it's just a hunch. 
But how can you know&nbsp;for sure?
There are many warning signs that you've been the victim of a data hack:
<ul>
<li>Your device is slower than normal.</li>
<li>You use more data than normal.</li>
<li>Videos take longer to load.</li>
<li>You received an email notification about a password change you didn't make.</li>
<li>An online account no longer accepts your password.</li>
</ul>
However, hackers can steal your passwords and identity&nbsp;without you ever knowing. That's why it's so difficult to tell if you're the victim of a hack.
This guide will help you work out if hackers have stolen your information and tell you how to stop it from happening again.&nbsp;
Prevent hackers from stealing your data by incorporating TeamPassword into your tech stack. This password manager for teams comes with a range of security features like two-step verification and password encryption.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up for a free trial</a>&nbsp;today.&nbsp;

<h2>Have I Been Hacked? How Do I Know?</h2>
There are various ways to tell whether hackers have access to your information:
<ul>
<li>Look for unusual activity on your account. This activity includes logins to your social media accounts from unfamiliar locations or mass messages sent from your email account.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look for security emails from account providers that warn about failed login attempts or password changes you didn't make.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look for changes in performance on the devices, apps, and websites you use. For example, see if videos take longer to buffer than normal.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look at your browser's password manager (if you use one) and check that nobody has changed these credentials.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
All the above can be a guessing game. You might have a feeling that you're the victim of a hack but don't know for sure. 
Checking a stolen password list like "Have I Been Pwned" clears up some of the confusion. This tool searches across multiple data breaches &mdash; when hackers take stolen passwords and usernames and post them online &mdash; to see if cybercriminals have compromised your personal information. 
Here's how to use this stolen password list:
<ol>
<li>Enter your email address on the main page.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Click "pwned."</li>
<li>The website will search thousands of databases to see if hackers have stolen your personal information.</li>
<li>If you receive the "Oh no &ndash; Pwned!" message, it means hackers have posted sensitive information associated with your email address (passwords, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) somewhere online.</li>
<li>If you receive the "Good news &ndash; no pwnage found!" message, it means the website could not find your information on the internet.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
Note: Just because the website can't find your data on the internet, it doesn't mean hackers haven't compromised your personal information.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-for-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Password Manager for Small Businesses</a>

<h2>Which Passwords Did Hackers Steal?</h2>
Establish which passwords hackers stole in a data breach so you can take quick action. Websites like "Have I Been Pwned"&nbsp;won't&nbsp;tell you which passwords are at risk. You'll only learn whether hackers have compromised the data associated with a particular email address. 
Note: Sometimes, hackers might have access to your email address and other personal information but not your password. It's hard to know for sure.&nbsp;
If hackers have access to your data, it's a good idea to change&nbsp;all passwords&nbsp;associated with the compromised email address. If you use your email address for several online accounts, change the passwords for these services. Updating these passwords might take you a while, and remembering the new passwords leads to additional problems. (Keep reading to find a solution.)
Here are some other tips:
<ul>
<li>When choosing new passwords, use combinations of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Passwords that use all these elements are stronger than those that don't.</li>
<li>Don't write your passwords down because this increases the risk of identity theft.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Don't tell anyone your new passwords.</li>
</ul>
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-most-secure-way-to-share-passwords" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Most Secure Way to Share Passwords</a>.

<h2>How Common Is a Data Hack?</h2>
More common than you think. Hackers were responsible for more than 4,000 attacks every day in 2020, and the total number of compromised records exceeded 37 billion. That's a 141% increase from 2019. Much of this compromised data appears on the dark web, where cybercriminals use it to facilitate illegal activities such as identity theft and money laundering.&nbsp;
If you have been the subject of a data hack, you are not alone. However, it's important to act quickly to prevent hackers from accessing your personal or financial accounts.&nbsp;
There are other types of cybercrime to consider. Cybercriminals use techniques like phishing, where they impersonate people online and trick victims into handing over their personal information. Phishing now accounts for more than 80% of all cybersecurity incidents, and criminals steal $17,700 every minute in these attacks.&nbsp;

<h2>What Kind of Information Do Hackers Steal?</h2>
Hackers steal all kinds of personal and financial information:
<ul>
<li>Names</li>
<li>Email addresses</li>
<li>Usernames</li>
<li>Passwords</li>
<li>Addresses</li>
<li>Phone numbers</li>
<li>Bank account details</li>
<li>Credit card numbers</li>
<li>Social Security numbers</li>
<li>Insurance information&nbsp;</li>
<li>IRS information</li>
<li>Photos</li>
<li>Private message</li>
<li>SMS messages</li>
</ul>
Nothing is off-limits for hackers, and these criminals go to great lengths to steal your data. Once they have access to the information above, hackers can transfer money from your bank accounts, use your identity to apply for financing, and damage your credit file.&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-scariest-data-breaches-of-all-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Scariest Data Breaches of All Time</a>.
TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams. Features include two-step verification, password encryption, easy password sharing, and more.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get a free trial now</a>&nbsp;and learn how TeamPassword keeps you safe online.&nbsp;

<h2>Have I Been Hacked? How to Stay Safe.</h2>
There are several ways to improve online security and prevent hackers from accessing your personal information:
<ul>
<li>Use the latest security software and apps when using devices and browsing the internet.</li>
<li>Carry out regular risk assessments where you evaluate your security software.</li>
<li>Back up personal data to a reputable cloud service instead of keeping it on your device.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Don't share personal information with other people.</li>
<li>Create a security management strategy for your organization and share it with all team members.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Using a password manager is another way to stay safe online. The best ones encrypt your online passwords so hackers can't access these credentials, and you can keep passwords in a secure cloud-based vault and not have to remember them. There are various password managers online, including free ones available through most internet browsers, but not all tools are the same.&nbsp;
If you work alongside a team, consider TeamPassword. It's the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">password manager for teams</a>&nbsp;that require world-class security and performance. This all-in-one password solution helps teams like yours store, manage, and share passwords in the safest way possible.&nbsp;

<h2>How Can TeamPassword Help?</h2>
TeamPassword prevents hackers from stealing your organization's most sensitive data with an incredible range of password management features. Enterprises of all sizes use TeamPassword to manage passwords, including tech startups, digital marketing agencies, creative agencies, and software and development teams.
Here are some&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/features" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TeamPassword features</a>&nbsp;that prevent situations involving a stolen password:
<ul>
<li>Random password generation that creates unique passwords for websites.</li>
<li>Two-step password verification.</li>
<li>Activity and logging tools so you can discover who has access to password management features.</li>
<li>Secure encryption technology.</li>
<li>Email notifications about password management actions.</li>
<li>Passwords stored securely in one place. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Word</h2>
If you're looking for the answer to the question, "Have I been hacked?" it's difficult to know for sure. Preventing hackers from compromising your data in the first place provides a better resolution. TeamPassword lets you store and manage passwords in a secure environment and minimize the effects of a stolen password so you can avoid hackers stealing your data and continue to collaborate on team projects.&nbsp;
With features like password encryption, two-step authentication, and random password generation, TeamPassword is the best password management solution for teams that want to improve online security.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up for a free trial</a>&nbsp;now.

Have I been hacked? Here's how to check if you have and learn how to stop hackers from stealing your data. | TeamPassword Blog

Have I been hacked? Here's how to check if you have and learn how to stop hackers from ...

Have I Been Hacked? How to Know for Sure.

Over the last decade, the gig economy boom has allowed professionals worldwide to switch to freelancing and build a network of international clients.&nbsp;
According to Upwork, 1 in 3 US workers engaged in freelance work during 2020. Some of the most successful freelancers earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year through platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Toptal.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
Does your company hire freelancers? How do you <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/should-i-share-data-with-freelancers">share passwords with freelancers</a>? TeamPassword is an affordable password management solution for small businesses, startups, and agencies to share credentials securely with team members and freelancers. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>10 Successful Freelancers</h2>
Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field with excellent track records&mdash;many have worked with the biggest companies in the world!
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<h3>1. Marcos Rezende - UX designer - Canada</h3>
Marcos Rezende is a UX Designer from Ontario, Canada, with more than 13 years of experience. Marcos has worked in over 30 industry sectors for multinational organizations in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Brazil.&nbsp;
Some of Marcos' notable projects include apps for Ontario's COVID-19 dashboard, Urban Master Planning collaboration platform, and Reaction (kid's e-learning app), to name a few.&nbsp;
Marcos loves sharing his industry expertise with aspiring UX designers and regularly writes for the popular UX publication Career Foundry. Total recognizes Marcos as part of its "Top 3%" of global freelancer talent&mdash;a title given to elite freelancers in their given field.
We don't have access to Marcos' rates, but the best UX designers on Upwork earn upwards of $100 per hour. As a Toptal Top 3% freelancer, Marcos likely charges $200-$300 per hour.
<a href="https://www.marcosrezende.com/">Marcos Rezende's website</a> was nominated for the prestigious <a href="https://www.awwwards.com/sites/ux-portfolio-marcos-rezende">awwwards.</a> in 2021.
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<h3>2. Kathy Edens - Marketing Consultant / Freelance Copywriter - United States</h3>
<a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~016177d19f0624c1a7?viewMode=1">Kathy Edens is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with over $300k platform earnings! Kathy has been self-employed as a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter for almost ten years from her home in Ohio, United States.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing and Psychology from Oregon State University, which she says "...helps me understand how to reach your target audience with words."&nbsp;
Kathy has ghost-written several non-fiction books on various topics, including social entrepreneurship, healthcare, real estate investing, and the cannabis industry, to name a few.
Kathy also writes web content, sales pages, email marketing content, case studies, white papers, brochures, press releases, and more. Kathy's rates start at $86 per hour for her writing and marketing services.
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<h3>3. Koen van Oeveren - UX designer - Netherlands</h3>
Koen van Oeveren is a freelance UI &amp; UX designer from North Brabant, Netherlands, with almost ten years of experience. Koen works with several design agencies in the Netherlands, designing apps, websites, and eCommerce experiences for many international brands.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Koen holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Communication and Multimedia Design from Avans University in the Netherlands. Koen's <a href="https://www.koenvo.com/index.html">portfolio website Koenvo</a> was nominated for a <a href="https://www.awwwards.com/sites/koenvo-ui-ux-portfolio">2021 awwwards. Award</a>.
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<h3>4. Pascal Strasche - Product / UX designer - Germany</h3>
Pascal Strasche is a product and UX designer with more than ten years of design experience from Germany. He holds a Master of Arts in Interaction Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design, both from HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
For almost a year over 2020/2021, Pascal worked as the sole product designer to design Con Cubo's SaaS tool that helps complex organizations visualize and manage teams. He's also worked with German steel giant XOM Materials to find product solutions to digitalize&nbsp;Germany's steel industry.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In 2019, Pascal founded Product Design Resources, a growing archive of 800+ design resources, weekly updated for the design community.
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<h3>5. Paul Hunkin - Developer - New Zealand</h3>
Paul Hunkin is a freelance software consultant and developer from Tauranga, New Zealand, but currently living in Portugal.&nbsp;
Paul has over ten years of experience as a software developer with an impressive work history, including Google, NASA, InfoSys, and the Chinese aerospace industry leader COMAC.
He's worked with several early-stage startups designing everything from high-performance big-data systems to complex web applications to 3D rendering engines. He's also built a lot of the foundational code for independent games on Android.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
Paul is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer with over $400k in platform earnings. His rates start at $120 per hour for software development. <a href="https://paulh.consulting/">Check out Paul's website</a> for more about his impressive portfolio and work history.
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<h3>6. Jana Galat - Writer / Brand Strategist - Canada</h3>
Jana Galat is a freelance copywriter and brand strategist from Ontario, Canada. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management and Organizational Studies from King's University College and an Honors in Business Administration from Western University.
Jana has extensive experience writing landing pages, email campaigns, social media ads, and print materials and says, "I am obsessed with creating copy that sells..."
After several years of professional work experience, Jana went freelance in 2019 and has quickly built a reputation as a <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01bfa17a48301876dd">Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with over $70k in platform earnings. Jana's rates start at $100 per hour for copywriting and brand consulting.
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<h3>7. Kate H. - Logo Designer / Branding Expert - United States</h3>
Kate is a freelance professional logo designer and branding expert from Maryland, United States. Kate&nbsp;ran her own green wedding brand which she sold to mywedding.com in 2014, allowing her to focus on helping small&nbsp;businesses figure out what they want (and who they are) and translate that into design.
She holds a Master's degree in Environmental Management from Yale School of The Environmental, and a J.D. in environmental law from Pace Law School.&nbsp;
Kate's skillset includes redesigning and updating material to make it easier to understand, building a consistent brand from a simple starting point like a logo, and creating unique logos that guarantee results.
Kate is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer, and her rates start at $225 per hour. You can find out more about Kate on her <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~013ce73876c1c18126" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Upwork profile</a>.
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<h3>8. Xhensila Zemblaku - Art Director - Canada</h3>
Xhensila Zemblaku is a freelance art director, UX/UI designer, and illustrator from Markham, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University with almost ten years of experience.
Xhensila has been a freelancer for most of her professional career and earned over <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01a08d1fcc6ea8fbcb">$400k on Upwork</a>, completed over 150 jobs, and 4,663 hours!&nbsp;
Xhensila's work includes typography, print design, UX/UI design, web, and mobile design. She's a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer currently charging $200 per hour for various creative gigs.
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<h3>9. Tanya Litvinova - UX/UI Designer - United States</h3>
Tanya Litvinova is a freelance UX/UI designer from New York City, United States. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Design / Communication Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Tanya specializes in product, mobile, and web design as well as user experience flow, research, and validation.
"I have a passion to make the complex simple, shape behavior, design, plan, and strategize. Aiming for the best user experience, all the while balancing the needs of business and technology to create engaging, habit-forming digital products."
Tanya has worked with Fortune 100 &amp; Fortune 500 companies and successfully delivered business-transforming data-driven analytics, responsive BI dashboards, enterprise web apps, and management systems. Some of Tanya's notable clients include KOCH Industries, BlackRock Financial, BCG Group, and FireEye, to name a few.
<a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~0165035041b26e96df">Tanya is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer</a> with more than $200k platform earnings. Her current rate starts at $162.50 per hour.
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<h3>10. Guangming Lang - Data Scientist - United States</h3>
Guangming Lang is a freelance data scientist from Michigan, United States. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from New College of Florida and a Master of Science in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. Guangming has also completed several Coursera courses in data science and machine learning.
Guangming has been a freelancer since 2013 and has worked across several industries, including fintech, trading, medicine, biotech, advertising, and HR.&nbsp;
Guangming is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer with over $400k in platform earnings. He's completed 216 jobs on Upwork totaling 3,805 hours! Guangming's current rates start at $200 per hour.
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<h2>Secure Freelancer Workflows With TeamPassword</h2>
No matter how talented or reputable the freelancers and contractors you hire, your company must use secure workflows to protect your digital assets.
Freelancers often need access to shared accounts and tools. Using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager</a> is the first step to securing these accounts and platforms. You can also use a password manager to share credentials with employees, clients, and other stakeholders to ensure you never expose raw passwords via email, spreadsheets, chat apps, and other non-secure methods.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> lets you create groups to share access with only those who need it. When they're done, revoke access with a single click. No need to change passwords every time someone leaves the team.
If you do need to change a password, TeamPassword's built-in <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">password generator</a> lets you create secure passwords between 12-32 characters using numbers, letters (uppercase/lowercase), and symbols.
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Ready to onboard clients and freelancers securely with TeamPassword's robust <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password management solution</a>? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a free trial</a> to secure your company's digital assets today!

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field.

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in ...

10 extremely successful freelancers and what they do

Here are ten successful freelancers and what they do. These freelancers have earned their place as experts in their given field with excellent track records—many have worked with the biggest companies in the world!

In an increasingly digital world, we&rsquo;re switching more and more of our daily lives over to the Internet. While this brave new world is exciting and convenient, it&rsquo;s not without its problems.&nbsp;
The issue of unsafe passwords has been around for a while. But have you ever thought about where and how to store them?
Most of us have several passwords, and we&rsquo;re encouraged to never duplicate them. Some people simply write them all down on a piece of paper &mdash; which is fraught with danger. But others store their passwords electronically.
As you&rsquo;re about to find out, not all electronic systems of password storage are <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/10-things-you-need-to-do-to-keep-passwords-safe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">safe</a>. Here are five of the most dangerous ways to store your passwords.&nbsp;
But before we begin:
Avoid bad idea passwords and dangerous storage methods with TeamPassword. This advanced <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/why-you-need-a-password-manager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">password manager</a> features a selection of security features, including password encryption and two-step verification. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow">free trial</a> today.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Email</h2>
Have you ever emailed yourself a password to ensure you&rsquo;re never without it? Great idea, right? Actually, emailing yourself your passwords is a really bad idea, and here&rsquo;s why:
<ul>
<li>Emails are usually sent in plain text. Without encryption, your passwords are susceptible if your email account is ever compromised.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Unsafe passwords sent via email often pass through several systems and servers. There&rsquo;ll also be a copy in your sent folder. If someone else can access your email account, your passwords become vulnerable.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Some email platforms store data locally on a drive. If someone steals your computer, phone, or tablet, your passwords become vulnerable.</li>
</ul>
A really bad idea for passwords is to send them via email &mdash; either to yourself or someone else. <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/have-i-been-hacked-how-to-know-for-sure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hackers </a>and scammers are more resourceful than ever, and they can often steal your information before you realize you&rsquo;ve been compromised.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s tempting to send a quick email to yourself containing unsafe passwords when you sign up for new online services. For the sake of an extra minute or two, don&rsquo;t give fraudsters easy access to your accounts. Use an encrypted email vault to safeguard all your passwords.&nbsp;
<h2>2. Online Documents</h2>
A lot of people like the convenience of saving crucial information using online document systems such as Google Docs. But this is a bad idea for passwords, as these systems are designed for text &mdash; not sensitive data.
Yes, a password might protect your online document manager from unauthorized access. But what happens if that password is compromised? Many document software platforms don&rsquo;t offer encryption, two-step verification, or even the most basic security measures.&nbsp;
If you use online documents regularly, you&rsquo;re probably accessing your account on a regular basis &mdash; across several devices. What happens if you step away for a moment to buy a coffee, speak to a friend, or use the bathroom?
A criminal can access an unattended online document platform in seconds. And if this happens, it doesn't take a lot of effort to steal your unsafe passwords.&nbsp;
<h2>3. Instant Messaging Service</h2>
Instant messaging services provide us with a convenient way of staying in touch with friends and family. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Snapchat were designed for private online conversations &mdash; not for storing passwords.
People who store their passwords on these apps do so because they believe they&rsquo;re fully encrypted. While that&rsquo;s often the case, it&rsquo;s important to remember that instant messaging services are often left open and operating in the background.
Imagine someone picks up your phone while you&rsquo;re not paying attention. If you left your device unlocked, that person would be able to access your password in seconds.
It&rsquo;s always a bad idea when passwords are stored on instant messaging services. By nature, these apps are designed to operate in the background &mdash; alerting you when someone sends a message. And because they&rsquo;re open, anyone with the device in their hand might be able to steal your unprotected passwords.&nbsp;
Don&rsquo;t fall into the trap of utilizing bad ideas for password storage. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free trial</a> with TeamPassword, and give your unsafe passwords the protection they require.
<h2>4. Online Note-taker</h2>
Developers design online note-takers for everyday lists and reminders. While they&rsquo;re great for creating to-do and shopping lists, they&rsquo;re not so good for storing unsafe passwords.&nbsp;
An app such as Apple Notes is easy to use, accessible, and convenient. But it doesn&rsquo;t offer two-step authentication, encryption, or any sophisticated form of security.&nbsp;
If your computer or mobile device is unlocked, your saved passwords are vulnerable. In many cases, a criminal would simply need to open the app to gain access to your sensitive information.&nbsp;
OK, you might be extra vigilant when it comes to keeping your phone or computer locked. But hackers are resourceful, and they&rsquo;re very good at discovering unsafe passwords. Once they access your phone, any passwords stored in your note-taking app become vulnerable.&nbsp;
<h2>5. On a Non-Password-Protected Device</h2>
Of all the bad ideas for passwords, storing them on non-password-protected devices is about the worst. You might think that your tablet or laptop never leaves your side. But if your device is ever stolen, you&rsquo;ve given the criminals the easiest possible opportunity to access your saved passwords.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re determined to store passwords on a physical device &mdash; which is never a good idea &mdash; make sure the device password is a complex combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. And it should contain at least 12 characters.&nbsp;
<h2>Use TeamPassword for Extra Protection</h2>
Remembering and safely storing a dozen or more passwords isn&rsquo;t a simple task. By locking away all your passwords in a digital vault, you get maximum protection and easy access.&nbsp;
TeamPassword offers a range of <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security features</a> &mdash; designed to keep your passwords safe. Offering two-step authentication and encryption, this powerful protection system solves the problem of unsafe passwords with ease. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free trial</a> to see these exciting features for yourself.&nbsp;

Storing passwords inappropriately can leave you open to fraud and theft. Avoid these storage methods at all costs. | TeamPassword Blog

Storing passwords inappropriately can leave you open to fraud and theft. Avoid these storage methods at all costs. ...

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