Some people may have never given it much thought, while others may have obsessed over how letters, numbers and symbols protect much of their online activity. Passwords are used everyday to access banking accounts, social media websites, medical information and other data.

According to Macworld.com’s Rich Mogull, passwords may be a real pain to some extent, but they are perhaps the only protection keeping users safe from cybercriminals. Some of the problems with passwords on the surface include complaints that they are difficult to remember and are too long.

The industry standard for strong passwords is usually eight characters with at least one number, symbol and uppercase letter. Mogull indicated that users who want to really shore up their protection can use passwords with 15 or more characters if they can remember the phrases. A movie quote may apply here, but the writer cautioned that people should avoid popular films.

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One of the biggest issues associated with passwords is that users often pick something they can remember and use this phrase for all of their accounts. This is dangerous because hackers who obtain this information can then access a person’s entire online presence. So what should consumers do to protect their passwords? Instead of writing down various phrases on notes, people can use a password manager such as Sticky Password to keep their sensitive data safe from cybercriminals.

A password manager is a helpful tool because users only have to remember a master password and the solution handles the rest by developing strong phrases that are difficult to crack. Passwords may be a nuisance for many, but the right password manager can ensure that people are safe while browsing the internet from any device or location.