Passwords are vital for protecting your accounts and data. You know that already, right? But it can’t be repeated often enough. Having passwords is one thing. Using them effectively is another. Let’s look at some password hygiene best practices, and how to create and manage your passwords so they do what they’re designed to do – safeguard your data and personal information.
Effective Passwords
We’ve probably all experienced problems with passwords. As we accumulate more and more of them, they become harder to remember. Misremembering them – for example, forgetting that one letter is uppercase, not lowercase – means you’re locked out and have to spend valuable time attempting to get into your account. There’s an art to designing passwords that are complex enough to deter hackers but not so elaborate that they’re impossible to remember. But it goes further, and here are a couple of extra things to think about.
Password Features
The security of a password is one thing, but it differs from its resistance to a brute force attack. That’s when a hacker devotes himself to the task, using multiple trial-and-error attempts. Passwords aren’t infallible, but you can try to make sure that the brute force approach is the only way the scammers are going to crack them.
A really strong password is:
- Usually 15 characters or longer
- Uses both numbers, letters and other characters or symbols, and both lower- and uppercase.
- Doesn’t include words or other clues that can be gleaned through an online search about you
- Uses uncommon words or phrases
Fortify Your Passwords
This will take you some way to creating good passwords, but never underestimate the cunning and resources of cybercriminals. They know how people think. For example, they know that more than 40% of passwords are lowercase only. That narrows down the possibilities.
You can make your passwords more complex by using a passphrase that consists of random terms. Here’s a strong password: 9f$Ga2;Rh&64vZ%sH4c. If you can remember that, we’re impressed. The alternative is to use a few words that aren’t connected in ordinary language, and then add capitals, numbers and symbols.
Unique passwords should be used for each of your accounts. If you use the same password for several (or worse, all) of your accounts, a hacker who gains access to one will have access to all. You don’t have to have dozens of online accounts to find it hard to remember which password goes with which account.
The solution is to use a password manager, which will store multiple passwords securely, but you will only need one to access them all when required. Browsers include the option to save and store passwords, and it can be helpful. However, for more dependable security, consider a dedicated password manager that encrypts the information and keeps it extra-safe. A password manager can also assist by generating strong passwords for you, if you wish.
Quikteks is dedicated to providing effective cybersecurity solutions for business. For more information on the ways you can boost your IT security, call us at (973) 882-4644for further information and advice.