With as many accounts as we have nowadays, the numbers of passwords we need are rapidly increasing. With the wide variety of passwords some may have, it may seem impossible to keep track of all of your passwords. For some, the answer to this problem is to use the same password for all accounts. When deciding for the password to use, some may decide to use their student ID for their non-school related accounts. 

Using your school ID for non-school related accounts is extremely unsafe since anyone can access your student ID. Also, using the same password for many accounts can lead to terrible consequences with security.

According to GCF Global, you’ll want to use passwords that are long, strong, and difficult for someone else to guess, while still keeping them relatively easy for you to remember. You should also never use personal information in your passwords. Something like a street name or relatives name are extremely unsafe. Try to include numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters. Also avoid including simple words that can be found easily in the dictionary.

Words that are less than four letters long are just as vulnerable as something like your student ID. When making a safe password you can replace letters in words with symbols. Things like the dollar sign can be used to replace the “S” in words. No account should have the same password. While it may be difficult to remember a separate password for each account, it is unwise to have all of your passwords written down in one place. 

Even if you have an uncommon password, there is always a chance that someone else could happen to guess your password. But, with the rise of Two-Factor Authentication even if your password is guessed correctly, your information would still be safe. According to TechTarget, two-factor authentication (2FA), sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. With this security measure, it makes it much more difficult for scammers to access your accounts. 

Student ID’s are accessible to everyone in the school and will never be a safe option for non-school related accounts. Even though your student ID may be easy to remember, once you’ve used these tips, your accounts will be infinitely more secure than they were before.