We work hard to protect your account and services, however we can't do it alone. In order to best protect your account we need your help.
There are several things you can do to help protect your account:
- Create and Use a Strong, Unique Password
- Select a Security Question
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Creating a Strong Password
One of the most common recommendations to protect your accounts online is to use a strong password. The problem is, how can we remember our password (ex: p3^@rdSO*I#4B2pS) when it's some random mess? It's simple. We don't remember these kinds of passwords, we default to something else we know we'll remember. In addition, we make matters worse by using the same password across multiple websites, and it's easily guessed using information from our online profiles like Facebook.
Our recommendation is to use a password manager such as LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane, to name a few. These managers can be accessed on multiple devices, and do not rely on the browser to store passwords. In addition to helping you generate secure passwords, they also securely remember and will show you the passwords when requested so that you do not have to remember these unique passwords. If password managers aren't your speed you can still generate passwords yourself.
A few suggestions to create a strong password:
- Use at least eight or more characters
- At least two Capital Letters
- At least two lower-case letters
- At least two numbers
- and at least two symbols
If you aren't using a password manager you should consider another method of tracking passwords. It's better to have multiple passwords written on a piece of paper than using the same password on multiple websites.
Select a Security Question
We all forget passwords at one point in time or another, so it's important to set a security question. These questions are used to reset your password, or if we need to verify your identity for some reason. Security questions are often overlooked, so if you didn't create one when signing up you should take a moment to create one.
Security questions are commonly based around personal information you are unlikely to forget, however this can present a problem. Instead of answering the questions truthfully, consider using a less common answer that may not be easily guessed. Questions like the furthest you have traveled from home could be answered based on another factor; for example, the furthest you have walked from home, or the distance of your childhood home from your current home. It could also be answered using the actual distance instead of the location.
The goal of these questions is to have you provide an easily remembered answer, so that you can answer the question any way you want. You just provide the same answer if asked in the future.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
The growing popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones has given rise to another form of authentication. In addition to protecting your account with a password, you can require a second factor of authentication. This is generally a unique code generated every thirty seconds on your smartphone, with a backup code should you lose your phone.
Enabling Two-Factor on your account is easy:
- Install the Google Authenticator on your Mobile Phone (if supported)
- Login to our Client Area and select Change Password
- Click Security Settings
- Click Enable under Two-Factor Authentication
Once setup, the next time you login to your account it will request the code from the application you configured earlier, or you can enter the one-time password instead.
Suggested Applications
There are a wide range of applications supporting Two-Factor code generation. The following suggestions are available for a wide range of platforms, we have not tested them all extensively. There may be additional application choices depending on your device, we recommend checking the respective app store and making a decision based on which will work best for your needs. We do not provide support for these applications.
iOS | Authy | Google Authenticator |
Android | Authy | Google Authenticator |
BlackBerry | Authy | |
Windows Phone | N/A | Authenticator |
Chrome* | Authy | |
Pebble | Pebble Authenticator |
* Chrome supports includes multiple operating including Chromebook, Linux, OSX, and Windows
Lost Phone or Reset Password?
If you are having problems with the codes generated on your phone, or are unable to use the one-time password, our support can help restore access to your account.