Today I stumbled across a neat thing; it’s a list of the 500 most common passwords (not my site, and I have no affiliation with it in any way). So I thought I would talk a little about passwords. A password is the most basic and least secure form of protection for any electronic device. It is the most common form of protection because it is the easiest to implement. And it is considered the least secure form because it relies on you, the user, and you are the weakest link.
So how can you protect yourself and you’re accounts from hackers? I threw together a few pointers to keep you and your accounts safe.
1. Do not use any simple or common passwords. You can find the 500 most common passwords in the above link.
2. Do not use any passwords that have any relation to you, or anything close to you. Do not use family names, birthdays, hometowns, or favorite things. They might be easy to remember, but all of that information can be taken off of, say a Facebook page. Even if you do not have a Facebook page that information can be gleaned quite easily. Either from following you around on the internet, certain types of hacking attacks, or even rummaging through your garbage, if someone out there really wants something they can most likely figure out how to get it.
3. Use a password that is simple to remember, but hard to figure out. While random words are ok, try using a random string of letters or numbers you can remember. I use a mnemonics-like password that is easy to modify. I have about six passwords I use, all based off of one password. That way even I can remember what they are.
4. Change little things in the password. Like if you absolutely need to have a name or date, write it backwards or in an unusual fashion. Take letters and make them numbers or numbers and make them letters. Whenever I need to use a mixture of letters and numbers I don’t add numbers on, I change a letter into a number. For instance, I use 3 for E, 0 for O, and so on and so forth.
5. Do not use the same password for each and every website you have an account on. Especially for bank and other important sites like email. I use one password for most of my little accounts such as forum accounts, but my email, bank, and paypal passwords are all different.
6. Do not write your password down anywhere. Especially on a sticky note stuck to your screen. In fact, If you need to write it down anywhere for some odd reason, keep it away from your computer. Also do not write just one word, or one word with “password” written before it. Put it in some odd sentence or in a line of gibberish. But really, unless you have no short/long term memory, do not write it down. One of the first things people do when attempting to hack onto a computer physically is to check around the computer, under the keyboard, and inside the drawers of the desk for odd slips of paper with one word or phrase. If it’s a password to a computer in your organization that you have written down, be aware that you have singlehandedly compromised your entire office, and possibly even the entire organizations network. Congratulations!
7. The strongest passwords of all are random numbers, letters, and characters. Its impractical but impossible to break. Such as 5u8f#@d43&^.
These are seven of the most important pointers to consider when creating a safe password that is worthy of protecting you're accounts.
Good luck,
Milandon
No comments:
Post a Comment