Never Worry About Forgetting Your Password With These Prevention Tips

Hopefully, you’ve spent time creating secure online passwords in order to prevent unauthorized hackers and scammers from accessing your accounts. You may have created complex passwords or, perhaps, went the extra mile by enabling two-factor authentication on your accounts. However, what if the worst happened and you totally forgot a password – what can be done? Here are a few tips to ensure you’ll still have access to your accounts even if you forgot that critical security phrase.

Email Recovery, So Simple
Almost all websites and apps provide a method to recover your password via an email address. If you forget a password, the system will send an email to the address you provided to register. Once you access the email, you can quickly update your password to something more memorable. It’s important to note with this method, that anyone who has access to your email inbox could potentially reset the majority of your passwords. Stay safe and first ensure that your email account is well secured.

Read More: How to Use a Password Manager Securely on Android

Your Smartphone Might be an Option Too
Some websites also request you submit a phone number when signing up for their service. It’s imperative that you enter a real number and not a fake one. If the day comes when you forget your password having a code texted to your device might be your only failsafe. Again, with the power to reset passwords, it’s vital to keep your phone locked down with a secure passcode.

Those Good Ol’ Security Questions
One option that isn’t so safe is the old-time tradition of security questions. In the event that you lose or forget your password, you can re-enter a number of personal questions that you provided the answers to when you first signed up for a service. Many individuals pick easy to answer questions that anyone could know – meaning that anyone could reset your password if they know a bit about you. If you opt to use this method, ensure the questions are unique to you and not common knowledge.

Getting Locked Out of Two-Factor Authentication
Setting up two-factor authentication is a superb way to keep hackers out of your account even if they discover your password, but there are flaws. If you were to lose your authentication device, this could be a potential problem. Bypassing two-factor once you forget it is a tricky ordeal and typically there’s only a single method to help you here. When you sign up for most two-factor systems, they’ll provide you with a list of ‘backup codes.” It’s essential that you keep these codes somewhere safe as they can unlock your account if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place.