(You may have heard these con games referred to as ' social engineering'.) If you receive an email message that appears to be from an online store (like eBay or Amazon) or a phone call from your “bank” that tries to convince you of the “legitimate” need for your password or other sensitive information, it could be a phishing scam. (Just be sure they make sense to you, so you'll remember them.) Don’t be tricked into revealing your passwordsĬriminals can try to break your password, but sometimes it’s easier to exploit human nature and trick you into revealing it. For example, if the question is 'Where were you born?' you might answer 'Green.' Answers like these can’t be found by trolling Twitter or Facebook. Tip: If you’re asked to create answers to security questions, provide an unrelated answer. Don't write them on sticky notes or cards that you keep near the thing the password protects, even if you think they're well-hidden. It's ok to write your passwords down, as long as you keep them secure. See Save or forget passwords in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft Edge can remember your passwords for you and automatically fill them in for you when needed. The best password managers will automatically update stored passwords, keep them encrypted, and require multi-factor authentication for access. If you don’t want to memorize multiple passwords, consider using a password manager. That's called a ' Credential stuffing attack' and it's extremely common. If crooks steal your account information from one site, they'll try to use those credentials on hundreds of other well-known websites, such as banking, social media, or online shopping, hoping you've reused the password elsewhere.

Never send a password by email, instant message, or any other means of communication that is not reliably secure. Once you’ve created a strong password, follow these guidelines to keep it secure:ĭon’t share a password with anyone. See Use Password Generator to create secure passwords.

Tip: Don't want to think up your own strong passwords? Microsoft Edge can create and remember strong, unique, passwords for you.

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