Privacy, Security & Virus Information

How Safe are Your Passwords?

Pretty much everything you do on your computer will be controlled by a password – email, Facebook, Twitter, online banking, shopping... the whole shebang. If you have one computer for your whole family to use, logging on might even require a password! But how safe are those passwords? Are those little six to 20-digit wonders really giving you as much protection as possible? Or are they leaving your email account open to anyone who cares to take a look? Here are a couple of pointers about using the best passwords to protect your online life.

First of all, avoid going for anything obvious. Do not, under any circumstances, use birthdays, addresses or names as your password – if anyone is attempting to hack your account, then chances are they already have information about you such as your address. Don’t use names spelled backwards, either, as this is a common trick people think is clever and unique, but is actually done by many people all over the world. Other obvious choices to avoid are combinations of letters that are next to each other on the keyboard, such as asdfghjkl, or sequences of numbers like 123456789. People don’t have to know anything about you to give these kinds of passwords a try, so avoid them at all costs.

Another thing to bear in mind when creating a password is to make sure it’s completely different to any other passwords you’ve already got. If you make the mistake of using the same password for different accounts, then once a hacker has figured one password out, they’ve got access to everything – and trust me when I say, that’s not a situation you want to be in. Try to make the passwords as different as possible, as just changing the number on the end from “1” to “2” isn’t enough. Your passwords for each account should be different in every way.

Another great tip is to make your passwords as long as possible. If you password can be up to 12, 15 or even 20 characters, go right up to the maximum limit. Length is the ingredient to creating a strong, safe and secure password.

Don’t worry if you feel you need to write your different passwords down, as it’s really unlikely that potential hackers will break into your house in order to hack your Gmail. However, if you want to write your passwords down, do make sure you keep them hidden in a safe place, and destroy them if you ever change your password or delete your account. It’s also recommended that you change your passwords regularly – every four weeks, if possible.

 

Article by Connor Sephton, 26th September 2011.