Did you know that the average small business owner has over 80 different passwords that they need to use for all of their business systems. Let’s explore why you should use need to use a password manager for your small business.
Given that I struggle to even remember my own phone number some days there is no way that I can remember that many secure passwords.
How about you? Think about all of the services you use:
- CRM
- Financial
- Your Laptop / Computer
- Marketing Systems
- Online Banking
- Social Media Accounts
They add up pretty quickly, don’t they.
Are you using secure passwords?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will have been told many times that you need to create secure passwords. A secure password is one that includes:
Upper and lowercase letters
Numbers
Those other symbols (like #, $, ! etc)
A combination of unrelated words
At least 10 characters
The problem with this is that they become harder to remember, don’t they.
So we rely on either writing them down in a little black book or similar OR we use the same password for different accounts… which is a disaster waiting to happen.
What can go wrong when you use the same password for different systems?
If you have re-used the same password then you are at risk of having your accounts compromised.
How? Well I’m sure you’ve heard about a recent online system being hacked and passwords for that system being at risk. If the hackers have your email address and the password for that system they then use these credentials to try and log in to other systems.
For example if your Canva Password was compromised recently and it was the same as your email password then the hackers can now access your email system and from there they can reset almost all of your other passwords and take over your entire online business and life.
BitWarden To The Rescue
The Secure alternative to the little black book of passwords is to use a password manager for your small business.
The best practice recommendation from security experts is to store your passwords securely in a password manager. There are many options to choose from – we recommend BitWarden.
Don’t just take our word for it – Consumers Advocate ranked it as the best Open Source Password Manager in their recent review of password managers.
BitWarden is an open source secure password manager available on all major systems. This means your passwords are synchronised across all of the systems you use:
- Mac
- PC
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
- All Major Web Browsers
Being Open Source it is possible to host the server on your own systems if you aren’t comfortable storing your passwords in the cloud.
You can create an account for free and start storing your passwords safely today.
A Master Password
One thing you need to realise is that you use a master password to be able to get access to all of your stored passwords.
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS MASTER PASSWORD!!
If you forget it there is no way that you will be able to access your passwords ever again.
Note also make sure this master password is secure and unique.
Autofill All The Things
BitWarden clients on all platforms allow you to get BitWarden to automatically fill in your small businesses passwords for you.
This is a step above using your browser to store passwords as you can use it for Apps and other software too.
You can also install plugins to your favourite web browser for even more seamless experience
Password Sharing? BitWarden Teams Make It Easy.
As a small business there are often times you may need to share passwords with other in your business. Maybe your business partner also needs to be able to log into one of your services. Best practice is to always try to have separate accounts, however sometimes this isn’t possible.
A BitWarden Business Account (available for a small fee per month) will allow you to setup a team and selectively share a password with other people in your team.
The benefit of using this system is that if one of you has to reset the password as long as it’s updated in BitWarden the other users will be able to see what the new password is.
Don’t Delay Implement Your Small Business Password Manager Today
Step 1 – Goto https://vault.bitwarden.com/#/register?email= and register today
Step 2 – Change any passwords that aren’t unique. Use the generate password function in BitWarden to create new secure passwords for you.
Step 3 – Install bitwarden client on all of your systems including browser
Step 4 – Sleep better at night knowing you have taken steps towards keeping your business secure online.
Don’t want to use BitWarden’s cloud?
If you are interested in setting up your own server we can help out. Leave us a note below and we can help you get started.
