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If you think news of yet another hacking event or data breach comes up practically every day, you’d be right. According to the Identity... SpeedyPassword Makes Data Security Easy

If you think news of yet another hacking event or data breach comes up practically every day, you’d be right. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s recent compilation on the statistics of breaches, there have been over 5,000 data breaches in the last ten years, which compromised nearly 800 million private consumer records or accounts. And since some industry experts have basically said data breaches are an inevitable part of doing business in the tech age, all consumers can do to protect their sensitive data is to be proactive about prevention.

How to Create a Secure Password

One of the best ways to protect your data is with a strong, unique password, but all too often individuals don’t take that step. They use simple, easy-to-break passwords, and then they make the mistake of using that password (or some easy variation) on all of their accounts. HINT: stop using “Password1” as your security code, since it’s one of the most commonly used passwords.

But generating a strong password–which is one that has at least eight characters and employs letters, numbers, upper and lower case, and at least one symbol–for each and every separate account you have can be difficult. Remembering those strong passwords after you create them for every single account you have can prove to be nearly impossible. That’s why software developers have released tools that autogenerate passwords for any type of account, then store them in a secure, encrypted format. All the user has to do is log into the password platform and then use a web browser as usual.

SpeedyPassword is one such tool. And while it might sound like a repeat of what a dozen other developers have already created, the beauty of this option is that your passwords are not stored on Speedy Password’s servers. Instead, they’re stored on your own PC under some of the highest security protocols; even if they were somehow accessed, they’re scrambled in such a way as to be unusable. That means users who download this security tool can feel confident in its military-grade 256-bit AES encryption and cryptographic hashing, even while taking advantage of the ease of use brought on by its auto-login feature. That means no more hunching over your keyboard while typing in a password in public, and no more trying to read a password off a cheat sheet you keep in your wallet. Speedy Password creates a virtually unguessable strong password, then stores it on your computer in a way that no one can access it. You need only remember one really good password, then Speedy Password protects all of your accounts.

While some people might balk at letting an outside platform generate their passwords and then log them in, it’s important to remember that identity thieves and hackers are good at what they do. With enough minor pieces of information–whether stolen online or even through something as simple as key logging in a coffee shop–someone with the skills and know-how can break into enough of your accounts to render them useless to you but still make them highly valuable for their purposes. The only protection you have right now is to secure your accounts as much as you possibly can.