Too many people are being scammed every day. So, what can you do to make yourself safer in the new year?
Change your online passwords!
From banking to ordering food, you do it online and each account requires a password.
So many passwords can be so hard to remember. Some people say they make them easy and use them repeatedly.
Data Doctors' Ken Colburn says don't do that.
"Right now if you're using the same password on all of your accounts, you are a sitting duck," he said.
Security.org shows how you can increase security easily.
While it says to use a mix of letters and numbers, something like 1357legend could be hacked by a computer in one day.
Capitalize one letter, add a symbol (1357Legend!) and it would take 400 years.
"Eight characters is not enough. It needs to be 12 and 16 characters and remembering all of that on all your accounts just isn't feasible," Colburn said.
Instead, he suggests a password manager.
Google has one and it's free.
With each site you visit and each account set up, it automatically "generates a unique complex password that's encrypted and then saved in your Google account."
Simply use Google Chrome and sign into your Google account. When you go to sites or accounts, saved safe passwords automatically fill in. Plus, it works on all your devices.
Lastpass, Roboform, and Dashlane all offer free password managers on one device.
This way, you only have to remember one password.
If you decide to continue without a password manager, Colburn says at least do a simple thing to make your passwords more secure.
"If you're still using an eight-character password, simply double it," Colburn says.
Back to that example on security.org, while "1357legend" could be hacked in a day, doubling it would take a computer 10 trillion years to crack it.
The most common password year after year is "password" and "123456." Security.org shows they could be hacked "instantly."
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