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Hey guys and gals.

I’ve begged. I’ve pleaded. I’ve jumped up and down waving my arms and screaming.

But, still … you’re not listening.

Another of my dearest friends suffered because she wasn’t using a separate and unique password for each and every site she signed up for.

The hacker got hold of one password and used that info to get access to her domain registration. He took her main domain.

So, once again, I hate to be a pest but I’m going to be one anyway. Because I HATE to see good people suffer. It really makes me angry and sad.

One more time for posterity. Here’s how you’re at RISK.

—– STEPPING ON SOAPBOX —

Have you EVER signed up for an account anywhere online (including signing up for affiliate programs and article directories)? Maybe one or two?  Or 200?

Well, if even ONE of those sites gets compromised, it may or may not be a big deal, right?

Right.

UNLESS you’re using the same exact email address, username and password on other sites.

If so, you could be in for a world of hurt. That hacker can now use automated software to keep trying that username & password on other sites – where you may also have accounts.

Perhaps you have credit card info stored, your Social Security number, important business contacts, or an established social media presence (like your Twitter account).

They now can lock you out of your own accounts and at least with Gmail, it’s VERY difficult to get it back.  Plus, if they get your Gmail account, they’ll also likely get your YouTube account if they’re connected. (Another reason to backup your YouTube videos.)

So, if this person hits those other accounts, you could lose money, have your identity stolen, turn off a bunch of your best fans, and ruin your reputation overnight.

And, you may not even realize that the first site has been hacked until after the damage has been done.

—– STEPPING OFF SOAPBOX —

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that it’s mostly preventable.

I’ve already shared my thoughts on the importance of password safety above. (To sum up: It’s important!)

“But, Nik”, you’re thinking, “how do you manage all of those passwords? It sounds like a lot of hassle to have a different password for every site!”

Well, I’ll tell you. I use a tool to handle it all for me, of course. Otherwise, it would be a mess.

I’ve used a few different password management tools over the years and they’ve all worked well, to an extent, but they’d only help so much.

Essentially, we usually have four pieces of data required for each account:

  1. login page
  2. email
  3. username
  4. password

and if any of those four pieces of info was missing and I had to look it up, it would eat up my time.

The biggest problem for me was the time involved in each step. Let’s say I’d get an email that said “You need to log in and update your paypal info to get paid on your affiliate commissions….” but it didn’t say where or how. That’s when the trouble started.

First, I’d have to track down the log in pages. (WHY do people hide them so well?)

Then figure out my usernames. (Which, are often different.)

If I couldn’t guess my username, I’d try to recover it.

But, if I didn’t remember which email address I’d used, I was stuck.

And, that’s all before I got to the password part of things.

So, I’d get very frustrated. And it wouldn’t take much, because, as my husband says, I have the attention span of a gnat. So anything that I am stuck on for longer than about a half a second feels like an hour. (It’s not pretty.)

The tool I ended up choosing (and have used for awhile) is Roboform. I was using a free program, but it actually got corrupt and is now unreliable or I’d recommend that one, too, even though it isn’t as powerful.

I recorded a free video that you’re welcome to watch to learn more about how Roboform works, and to see it in action on my computer. While it isn’t perfect, it’s good. (I’d be lying if I said any program is perfect.)

Here’s the video and there’s my referral link under it to try Roboform free -

If this tool looks like something that can help you in your business, here’s the link to try it…

Click Here to try Roboform Free!

Please share your suggestions for managing your passwords below. I’m always open to alternatives.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS.  If you’d like to learn more about online business safety, I have created a short ebook about keeping your business safe.

You can check it out here if you’d like:

Keep your online business safe and profitable.
Click to Learn How.