Happy New Year! We hope you had a lot of fun celebrating. This time of year, everyone is thinking about what New Year’s Resolutions they want to make to improve their lives and have a great 2019. While you may be hitting the gym or giving up soda for your New Year’s resolutions, have you thought about your New Year’s resolutions for technology?

Here are a couple New Year’s Resolutions you can add to your list to improve your internet experience and security:

In 2019, I will… Use different passwords

Do you use the same password for multiple sites, apps, and logins? It is very common for users online to get into a groove where they reuse passwords. While this may be convenient, it is not very safe. If a malicious person were able to get a hold of that password, it would be like giving them the keys to all of your online information. A great New Year’s Resolution would be to change your passwords and create unique passwords for each login.

In 2019, I will… Use secure passwords

Some of the most common passwords are usually very simple. Passwords like “123456,” “password,” or “asdfg” are too simple and can easily be cracked by a hacker. The best way to combat this is to have a strong, LONG password. As your password gets more complicated, it takes longer for brute force attempts (where a computer simply tries every combination of characters) to crack your password. A good password will combine the following:

• Lowercase letters
• Capital letters
• Numbers
• Symbols (which symbols are allowed can depend on the site) 
• At least 16 characters

When thinking about creating new and different passwords, it is important to make sure those passwords are nice and strong. Being safe online is a resolution we can all get behind.

In 2019, I will… Keep software, programs, and applications up to date

Putting off your software updates is like putting off going to the gym. Sure, you could do it later, but why not do it now? Luckily, updating your software takes almost no time at all. When you update, you are installing patches and security updates that fix exploits or bugs identified in the previous version. Updating your software and apps is quick, easy, and should be on your New Year’s Resolution list.

In 2019, I will… Share my tech knowledge with my friends and family

If you learned a new tech best practice or have a tip that helped you in the past, share it with the people you know. The internet was made for sharing. Let’s keep that sharing going in the new year!