ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Is there anything harder than remembering every long, unique password for every account?

World Password Day offers us a time to heed some tips to remember them all.

Troy Hunt, who runs the password checker website “HaveIBeenPwned” tells me most people don’t realize the dangers of using the same password until it’s too late.

“It takes a bit of a shift on their behalf to get their head around the risk. And what we find is that someone needs to be the victim of an account takeover before they go ‘Yeah, you know this is actually a bad thing’,” Hunt said.

Here are some tips to remember:

Passkeys are a new solution. Sign into accounts with 2-factor authentication, and use an authenticator app to sign in with a fingerprint or face scan on a second device.

There’s the Yubikey, a physical NFC device that enters passwords with the tap of your fingerprint.

Password Managers, like OnePassword and LastPass use one Master Password to unlock unique ones for every account. My choice is a secret code: A 12-character password you can set to memory and use the code on every account, just add the first two letters of the account somewhere to help you remember where to use it.

None of these options are as easy as using 12345. But, they’re all easier than you might think. It’s the most important thing you can do to protect your accounts.

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