Today marks Canada's 5th International Password Day.

Better Business Bureaus across the country are encouraging Canadians to change passwords for primary online accounts to promote security.

The BBB recommends a password between 8-13 characters long, utilizing upper and lower case letters, as well as numbers and symbols.

They recommend you avoid using the names of pets or family members, as well as birth dates.

External Communications Specialist with the Better Business Bureau Shawna-Kay Thomas says there are websites dedicated to generating passwords, though they should be used with caution.

"Those are available, they generate them for you and there are also tools to manage them and store them for you. When you're using those however, we advise that people do thorough research on the one they're going to use, because with every legitimate source there's also the illegitimate, where scammers try to take advantage."

She says using one password for everything, though convenient, could potentially compromise all of your accounts.

"It's not recommended, because if, by slightest chance, somebody gets access to that password, they can now access all your other accounts. It's not advised you use one password for every single account, even if it's a long and a strong one."

Writing down passwords or storing them in your phone are common practices, especially when it comes to remembering multiple strong passwords.

Thomas says it can be a dangerous practice.

"It has to be stored in a place that's secure. Preferably at home, not on your person. Your phone is not one of those places where you want to save your password, because if you phone gets stolen, or if by chance someone does malicious porting of your phone, they'll have access to that information."

According to a publication from 'Risk Based Security,' nearly four thousand public-ally disclosed breaches occurred in the first half of 2019, exposing 4.1 billion records globally.