Lets be deadly serious for a second and ask our selves a question, how strong really are the passwords that we use to protect our electronic devices? Now this is a question that is often overlooked, as we tend to think that we know best and that the details we provide will be secure enough to keep our devices safe and sound.
You may be thinking, well who would want to hack my accounts? Especially when it comes to things like emails or social networking! Unfortunately there are many people who would love to get their hands on all your personal details, just take a look at
part 1 of this blog if you haven’t already done so.
Patience is a Virtue ... but it will also Protect you!
Yes hackers are a real threat to us these days, and they are only becoming more and more crafty, sneaky, and persistent in their methods! Therefore it is imperative that we take extra special care with any passwords or security information that could lead to invasions of our personal details if ever such attempts were made. Now there are certain practices to follow that guarantee much safer results when concerned with password security. Although things like data breaches may be out of our control, we can still manage to protect ourselves from most hackers if we take the time to set strong passwords.It just goes to show!!
Can you believe that 2 of President Obamas’ previous passwords were, ‘password’ and ‘123457’! This just goes to show how much these practices can be ignored, and when operating at such extreme levels! I mean, there would be absolute chaos occurring if the President of the United States’ personal accounts became victim to a hack or data breach.
Counteroffensives to Hold Down your Defences!!
For a start your passwords should be at least 8-16 characters in length, this is a standard setting that will greatly mitigate the risk. Within these characters it is important to include a combination of symbols, numbers, and uppercase and lowercase letters. Always try and stay clear of any repetition, dictionary words, usernames, or any other kind of IDs or predefined number or letter sequences.
Inventive Incentives...
There are many ways in which you can create an effective password. One of these ways is to get creative with things you are already familiar with. For example, you can try altering something that you already have memorised, say certain names or perhaps lyrics from a favourite song. After all, if this is something already ingrained in your mind then surely the modification you provide will also stick in your head!
Alternatively you could relate a password to a prominent model or serial number that is near to your workstation. By this I mean adding or subtracting numbers or letters to allow for a change, for example making 2245839675 into 1134728564 by subtracting 1 of each digit. Phrases are also very useful for making strong passwords as they are easily remembered and can be applied accordingly. For example, “I hope that England win the World Cup in 2018” could easily be transformed into IhtEwtWCi2018! Once you have created your password there are free strength-checking tools available to use online, such as Microsoft’s Password Checker, LBW-SOFT’s Password-Review and AsKTheGeek’s Password Meter. It is definitely worth testing the strength of your passwords out before you decide to put them into operation. After all, you may think that you have the strongest password known to man, but these days you just can’t afford to underestimate how advanced hacking devices have become.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the third and final section of this blog, where i will be revealing some extra tips on what not to do when it comes to creating your passwords!!!
