As we do more of our daily activities online, including filing taxes, we become more vulnerable to security compromises, such as breached data and identify theft. A key item that can put you at risk is the vulnerability of your passwords. Here are tips for taking better steps to safeguard your passwords to protect your important data.

1. Create long passwords

Tips for creating a secure passwordBreaking into a long password is more difficult to do than one with just a few characters and numbers. As such, you should create passwords that have a minimum of eight characters.

2. Use combinations of characters and capitalization

Characters: Sometimes companies will control what types of characters you can use. When you have the freedom to choose a variety of characters, you can create a secure password using a combination of the following:

  • Letters
  • Numbers
  • Symbols

Capitalization: You also should vary using capitalized and lowercase letters. Be sure to include at minimum one uppercase and one lowercase letter.

3. Avoid personal information

While details such as your children’s name or pet can be memorable, they make guessing your password easy for criminals. Avoid using any personally identifying information in your chosen password.

Other details apply, and you can find more information on the IRS website.

* This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.