The use of passwords dates back to ancient times, where they existed as verbal or written phrases that a group would use to verify its members’ identities. Their use has evolved and become more complex since then – it was not until the rise of the personal computer that use of a password to safeguard a user’s personal information would be truly feasible, and even then most users would only have a single password at a time. As any reader of this post will already know, that has changed considerably since the advent of the internet.

With most websites requiring passwords for membership, it is no longer uncommon for a person to need to remember a plethora of different passwords at all times. This is harmless so long as that person has either an excellent memory or unending patience – without one of those attributes, it is unlikely that a user will have a different secure password for each site they frequent. Far more often, users will eschew proper security practices in favor of the convenience of a password they already use frequently. It is crucial that password security is done right on the server side so as to help prevent human habits like common password reuse from becoming a bigger problem than it already is.

We had all of this in mind when we began working on one of our new products, Call Box. We recently had to decide on the best way to allow our first users to change their passwords, with the primary goal being that we wanted to ensure that each password change request is valid before allowing a change. As such, we opted to design a link users can click that sends them an email with a password reset link – the link remains valid only for a limited time before expiring and contains a randomly generated 25 character token string that we tie to the user. We require a certain level of complexity for any password coming in, and ensure that passwords entered into our system are properly encrypted so that the only person who truly knows their password is the person who made it.

These safety features are meant to help keep our users secure, but just as you must wear your seat belt properly in your car for it to be any use in an accident, these measures can only help if users are mindful about how they are adhered. Reducing password reuse and making your password harder to crack are two excellent steps towards ensuring that your passwords are secure, and thus that your privacy is maintained. If a mindful user is paired with secure technology, both will be far more secure that either could be alone.