We highly recommend everyone take steps to improve their own safety on Dropbox and elsewhere online. Here are some easy and common password protection techniques to keep your online accounts safe.
Choose unique passwords for each service you use
The safest thing to do is to choose unique passwords for each service you use and guard them closely. If you’ve ever used the same password for more than one website, you should create new unique passwords for each of them.
Tools like 1Password can help you manage strong passwords across multiple sites and help make your accounts safer.
Enable two-step verification
Two-step verification will add an extra layer of security to your account. Every time you sign in to Dropbox, you'll be required to enter the code sent to your phone or a one-time, time-limited code generated from a supported mobile app, like Google Authenticator. This is a highly effective way to protect your account from unauthorized access. To enable two-step verification, follow the steps in this help center article.
Create strong passwords and test them
A good password is one that is easy for you to remember but hard for a stranger to guess. Uncommon words work well, but only if you use several together. The following are also helpful:
- Non-standard uppercasing (for example, "uPPercasing")
- Non-standard word spelling (for example, "spellllllling")
- Using personal slang words
- Non-obvious numbers and symbols (note: using "$" for "s" or "0" for "o" is fairly common and likely not enough of a security measure).
You can use the Dropbox password strength estimator to test your password here.
To learn more about how our password strength estimator works, you can read the post on our Tech blog.
Change your passwords from time to time
Another way to help keep your passwords secure is by keeping them fresh. It’s a good idea to change them regularly and never repeat previously used passwords.
