When to Change Your Password
Administrator accounts on your IndieCommerce or IndieLite website are very powerful, and should be protected with strong passwords. Periodic password resets are an important tool to protect password security, which you already use due to IndieCommerce policies. However, it is sometimes necessary to change a password immediately to maintain the security of your account.

Circumstances that require an immediate password reset include a breach of another service that uses a similar password, staff turnover, or any other circumstance in which you believe your password may be out of your hands. It is important to remember that your username and password identify you to your site. You are responsible for maintaining the security of that identification, and are responsible for any misuse of your account on the IndieCommerce platform.

Don’t Reuse Passwords
Don’t use the password on your store website anywhere else. This is commonly known as password reuse, and hackers know that people do this. Dozens of large sites have been hacked in recent years, and bad actors have made off with the email addresses and passwords of millions of users. This makes it incredibly important to use a unique password on your store’s website.

Create Strong & Unique Passwords
If you don’t work from a shared computer, you can use a password manager such as Lastpass or Dashlane to help you remember your strong and unique passwords. Here are a few tips for creating passwords that are hard for a bad actor to guess: 

Length: longer passwords are inherently stronger. 
Complexity: use a mix of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters. 
Avoid using dictionary words. 
Avoid names of family members, pets, and friends. 
Avoid city names or landmarks, such as rivers, etc. 
Don’t use obvious letter-to-number substitutions, such as ‘E’ for ‘3.’ 
Quick tip: A good start for creating a memorable password is to take the first letter of each word in a favorite quote.

If you have additional questions about password security, contact us at [email protected]