How secure is your password?
Password security is becoming a more integral part to our everyday lives. The majority of people reading this will use very common passwords, rarely more than 8 characters in length and often a word that is closely linked to themselves. So what can we do to protect our online identities especially when everything we seem to do nowadays requires a login, not to mention they are all supposed to be different. Well here are a few easy steps to help you to a more secure online world:
- Avoid family member names, pets, memorable dates etc
- Avoid the “remember my password” option in your browser, it’s generally not that safe.
- Prepare a unique “Master Password” (for point 4) – and never forget it…
- Use a random/foreign/made up word/sentence
- Combination of Upper/Lower case letters
- Use numbers and Special Characters
- Set up a password manager – We recommend LastPass Then you will only ever have to remember your “Master Password” (doesn’t that make life easy)
- Use 2 factor authentication whenever it is made available to you: This adds an extra layer of security by using a phone application such as Google Authenticator as an additional password check when you log in for the first time on a new browser. The below applications are a few that use this method.
Lets take a look at some passwords concepts for a “Master Password”
| Bad Idea | Getting Better | Respectable | Congratulations – You’re one of us |
|---|---|---|---|
| james1 | J@m3s746 | +!J@M&5]#597 | T@K3@L0ngS3^t@nc3&Ma|<!tUR0//// (Take a long sentence and make it your own) |
| bruno9 | Brun0613 | Bru^0!+29466 | |
| facebook01 | F@c3B00k530 | /*F@c3B0O|<*/874 |