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To save or not to save?

Passwords are a necessary evil. Everyone hates remembering them. It’s so easy to stick to the same format of password or the exact same password for all of your logins (AKA -a huge security risk). Or you have these requirements that say your password must have an uppercase letter, a lowercase, a symbol, and a number. Or you have a 2-factor authentication password which not only requires a complex 8 character password, but also has you verify who you are by answering a phone call or a text message to your personal cell.

This is all complicated and a bother, but it is a necessary action for security purposes.

There is something else you also need to consider. Is saving a password in your web browser safe and secure? Do you want your passwords saved so that every time you go to LinkedIn or your Gmail account, you are automatically logged in? Sounds convenient, right?

Saving your passwords in the browser (Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer) is a privacy and a security risk. Especially if you are at work.

So this happened…..

We recently had a client who had an employee save their Facebook password to a work computer. Another employee, who happened to work at the same computer, was able to access the Facebook account and see all of the first employee’s posts and messages.

As you can imagine, the rumor mill started within the office…

We got involved and were able to track previous posts on this Facebook account back to an IP address at the client’s office.

Ponder this.

Are work computers private?

Most companies will have employees sign an internet protocol agreement which states that the computers are company property and that the contents and the sites visited on the device are subject to review and reporting.

Our 2 cents… just don’t do it. Don’t log into social media at the office. Don’t post in the office. Wait till you are either out grabbing a coffee, at lunch, or at home.