Caregivers in Holladay, UT
In today's world of technology and mobile devices, passwords are something that you are likely very familiar with as a part of your daily life. Even if your seniors do not use many different devices or are limited to just basic emailing and internet exploration, they likely use a computer on a fairly regular basis as well. This means that they also utilize passwords in order to access the information on their devices. The goal of a password is to keep the device or account and everything that is on it safe, secure, and accessible only to authorized people. This makes your passwords a very important tool for protecting your parents and yourself. It is vital to realize that in order to keep the passwords effective, they must not remain the same at all times. Changing your passwords regularly helps to prevent breaches and keep them as effective as possible.
February 1 is Change Your Password Day, the perfect opportunity for you and your aging parents to take steps to keep your devices and accounts secure by changing your passwords.
Use these tips to make changing the passwords for your and your parents' devices successful:
• Make them long. The shorter the password, the easier it is going to be to guess. Encourage your parents to choose passwords that are at least eight characters long to make them more difficult to guess.
• Make them varied. Just using letters in your password makes it more vulnerable. Add in different types of characters, such as letters, punctuation, and special characters. For the most effectiveness, add the special characters throughout the password rather than just as the end, or use them to replace letters in the password.
• Make them memorable. Having passwords is not useful if your parents do not remember the password when it comes time for them to use it. Make sure that they come up with passwords that they will remember, or that they will easily be able to figure out if they do happen to forget it and need only a hint from the computer. While you are making it memorable, however, do not make it easy to guess. Avoid using information that people might easily be able to glean from your loved ones, such as family names, birthdays, or their own names, unless you are able to make it complicated with the special characters and extra information.
• Make them different. If your parents have several different devices and accounts, such as social media accounts, utility bill accounts, online baking accounts, and email accounts, it is important not to use the same password for all of them. If they do this, the moment someone figures out one of their passwords, that person knows how to access all of them. Have them come up with several different passwords or at least several different variations on the same basic password so that they can better protect their devices and accounts.
• Make them accessible. Everyone has forgotten their password at some point. This can be extremely frustrating. Find a way to record passwords so that you and your parents can find them quickly if they forget them. Avoid writing them down and keeping them close to the computer or putting them in the notes section of a mobile device. Instead, record clues or pieces of the password so you can figure out the rest.
If you or an aging loved one are considering caregivers in Holladay, UT, contact the caring staff at Interim Healthcare. Call today 801-401-3515.
