So what is a cookie? And are they safe to accept? 

What Are Cookies?

Simply put, cookies are small pieces of text sent to your browser that help the website you visit remember certain information about you. What information? It’s usually very innocuous stuff like your preferred language, the size of your screen, and other stuff about your browsing preferences. 

Cookies can also store information like what you’ve clicked on, what items you’ve added to your shopping cart, and which news articles you’ve read. If you’ve clicked the “remember me” box so you don’t have to log into Facebook each and every time, you’re relying on cookies. .When you ask your browser to remember your password, you’re relying on cookies. 

So They’re Bad?

This might sound scary, but in many cases, cookies make your experience online significantly easier. 

For example, if you disable cookies on Netflix, the site won’t “remember” which episodes of a series you’ve already seen or where you left off if you stopped watching mid-episode. 

In other cases, disabling cookies will prevent the website from functioning altogether. Amazon, for example, cannot run if you don’t accept cookies. Remember that allowing them permits the website you’re visiting to share certain information with your browser, including which items you’ve looked at and, most importantly, which you’ve added to your shopping cart.  

So They’re Good?

Well, not exactly. 

Cookies can also be used to remember websites you’ve visited and what you’ve viewed on those pages, and then to tailor the ads you see to reflect your browsing history. 

While this isn’t inherently dangerous (we are all going to see ads anyway – is there harm in seeing ones tailored to your specific interests?) it can definitely feel creepy. No one likes the idea of having someone follow them from store to store and then ensure that the newspaper they receive only contains ads from those stores, so why do we think it’s okay online? 

Some folks find it a necessary evil. Their logic is that cookies suggesting ads to you are just something you have to live with if you want to use the internet. Others recognize that accepting cookies is essential to browse some sites but would prefer not to have them stored long-term. Others still prefer to avoid cookies altogether. There are solutions for each preference. 

It is possible to clear cookies from your browser – this way you can use each website to its full functionality without permanently saving them to your computer. You can do so on a schedule, on demand, or every time you close your browser.

The frequency with which you opt to do so depends on numerous factors, including your personal level of comfort with having cookies on your browser and how useful you find cookies to be. Some people, for example, find that the tailored ads are worth having a website remember things like your language preferences or which articles you have read in the past.

Generally speaking, to adjust your cookie settings, you will need to visit your browser settings and then take a look at what privacy and security features your browser offers. You can typically access these options by clicking the three dots to the far right of your address bar. Keep an eye out for a step-by-step guide on how to adjust your cookie preferences for both Chrome and Firefox users.

The post What Are: Cookies appeared first on Lilac Grove Consulting.

“Please create a strong password.”

We see a message like this just about every time we try to do something online. It seems that, especially lately, passwords are required for just about everything – whether you’re trying to access your bank account, checking your email, or even shopping online you’re inevitably going to be asked to create a strong password. 

Which begs some important questions, namely: why do you need a strong password? How can you create one? Moreover, just what is a “strong password” anyway?

What Is A Strong Password?

We say that a strong password is one that is easy for you to remember but difficult for someone else to guess, but what does that mean?

Basically, it means using a combination of letters or numbers or both, depending on the context, to create a password that you can practically use without it being so simple or obvious that others could guess it. 

Why Do You Need a Strong Password?

Simply put, strong passwords ensure that your accounts stay safe and only accessible by you. 

Accounts can be breached or hacked in a few different ways:

1. Someone you know accesses your account without your consent. 
2. A piece of malware, like a virus, has infected your computer and stolen your password
3. A computer program, called an algorithm, is developed with the sole purpose of trying to guess passwords, and it has successfully guessed yours. 

Creating a strong password is your best defense against all three of these methods. 

How to Create a Strong Password

Creating a strong password is more of an art than a science. While there are certain elements that should be there, the rest is up to you. 

Dos and Don’ts

Some general guidelines:

• Don’t use sequential numbers or letters
• Don’t use dictionary words
• Don’t use meaningful dates, like your anniversary, birthdates (of people or pets), etc. 
• Don’t use things like cities, addresses, names, or other meaningful words or numbers
• Don’t include any letter or number combinations that can be traced back to you (e.g. don’t use the last 4 digits of your SIN as your PIN, don’t use your pet’s name, etc.)
• Do combine letters and numbers
• Do combine different words to create one password
• Do aim for at least 8 characters
• Do use a combination of upper and lower case letters

Creating an Alpha-numeric Password: The Sentence Approach

One of the easiest ways to create a password you can remember that will be difficult for others to guess is to use the sentence approach.

• Step One: Think of three or four Random Words
• Step Two: Come up with a strange yet memorable sentence containing your Random Words from Step One above
• Step Three: Replace some of the letters in your Random Words with numbers and try to “disguise” the words
• Step Four: Squish it together
• Step Five: Play around with capitalization.

For example:

• Step One – My random words: Arkells, coffee, Picton
• Step Two – My sentence: Arkells drinking coffee in Picton
• Step Three – My replacements: 4rkls Coff3 P1ctn
• Step Four – My squished word: 4rklsCoff3P1ctn
• Step Five: My final password: 4rklsCoff3p1ctn
• Tip: If you have a tight character limit, such as 8, replace whole words with initials or numbers, like: ACf33p1c 

Creating a Numerical Password: The Short Word Approach

What if you need to create a PIN or other numeric password? 

One common approach is to think of a short word, and then think of numbers you would associate with that word. However, avoid using your phone’s keypad to spell out words in numbers. For example, if you like the word SAFE, don’t use “7233” (the numbers on a phone pad that correspond with the letters S-A-F-E). Instead, try to think of numbers you would associate with that word, like: 2473 (with the 4 representing “A” and the 3 representing “E”). 

Alternatively, you could push two different numbers together to create one four-digit number. 

For example, you could use the years you saw your two favourite concerts:

• Two best shows I saw were in 2009 and 2022 (both Arkells concerts, btw)
• So my PIN could be: 0922

Or you could use the day your favourite movie came out:

• Return of the Jedi was released May 25, 1983
• So my PIN could be 0583 or 2583 or 0525

Keeping Your Passwords Secure

Once created, your next job is to keep your strong passwords secure. 

Don’t Share

A huge part of this is not sharing your passwords with other people. While you may trust your best friend or your children, you can’t always account for their actions or the actions of others. For example, you might email a password to your child, and then they might lose their phone. Or your best friend might allow her browser to “remember” your password, accidentally giving anyone who uses the family computer access to your accounts in the process.

When To Change Your Password

If you are dealing with highly secure or sensitive information, it might be wise to change your passwords once every few months.  

But Don’t Change Too Often

However, for the average person sending or receiving personal, but not highly confidential or sensitive, information, it’s only recommended that you change your passwords:

• Once every few years
• If you’ve been a victim of a data breach
• If there was malware on your device
• If you haven’t used the account in a while
• If you’ve logged into the account using someone else’s device
• If you have previously shared your password

Upcoming articles will discuss how to safely store your strong passwords and what to do if you think your passwords have been compromised.

The post How To: Create a Strong Password appeared first on Lilac Grove Consulting.