Once a year, it is worth giving your accounts the digital equivalent of a dental check-up: a quick pass to catch the weak spots before someone else does. It takes under an hour and dramatically lowers your risk. Our GetMyPassword team walks through how to do a password security checkup, step by step, so your defenses stay strong.
Step 1: find weak and reused passwords
Start with the biggest risk. Open your password manager’s security check (most have one), or your browser’s password checkup, which flags passwords that are weak, reused or found in known breaches. This list is your to-do list. Reused passwords are the most urgent, because one leak can unlock several accounts at once.
Step 2: replace the flagged ones
Work through the flagged passwords, starting with your most important accounts — email, banking and anything with your card. Replace each with a strong, unique password from our password generator and save it in your manager. You do not have to do all of them in one sitting; just clear the high-priority ones first.
Step 3: check your other defenses
- Two-factor authentication: confirm it is on for email, banking and key accounts.
- Recovery details: make sure your recovery email and phone are current.
- Connected apps and sessions: review and remove ones you do not recognize.
- Old accounts: close ones you no longer use, since each is a loose end.
A yearly checkup turns security from a one-time scramble after a breach into a quiet habit. Twenty minutes of maintenance beats a weekend of damage control every time.
Make it a habit
Put a reminder in your calendar to repeat this once a year, or after any big breach makes the news. Each checkup gets faster as your accounts get healthier. Over time, weak and reused passwords disappear, every important account has two-factor authentication, and a single leak stops being a catastrophe — because your generated, unique passwords keep each account on its own island.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I do a password security checkup?
About once a year is a good rhythm, plus any time a major breach is in the news. Regular checkups keep weak and reused passwords from piling up and make each pass quicker than the last.
What does a password security checkup involve?
Run your manager’s or browser’s security check for weak, reused or breached passwords, replace the flagged ones with strong unique passwords, confirm two-factor authentication and recovery details, review connected apps and sessions, and close old accounts.
Which passwords should I fix first?
Start with reused passwords and your most important accounts — email, banking and anything holding your card. Reused passwords are most urgent because a single breach can unlock every account that shares them.