Achieving password protection

Cybersecurity experts continually suggest the use of strong and unique passwords as one of their top recommendations to keep hackers out of your system. However, this is also one of the least followed recommendations by users. Some suggest this is because it’s difficult for users to remember these strong and unique passwords for the many logins and websites they use.

Fortunately there are some simple, yet effective password protection tips and tricks to ensure user passwords are security optimized.

It’s simple – the longer your password, the better. Once you get into the 12-15 character range, it becomes much harder for the bad guys to crack.

A pass phrase is a relatively long string of words and symbols. For example, “MyBlackLab$Dai$y&MaX”. This example is 20 characters long, including a mix of upper-case and lower-case letters, as well as multiple symbols. It’s important to think of something you can remember, but others can’t guess. These passwords are not only incredibility unique but typically longer than the average password and, if done right, easy to remember.

This is somewhat explanatory. Use numbers, capital letters, and symbols. Use an “$” instead of a simple “S”, or a “4” instead of ‘for.” Be creative. Anything to make your password more complex and unique the better.

When you decide to use special characters, capital letters, or numbers in your password, be sure to spread them out. Typically, users put them at the beginning or end of their passwords. Hackers know this and can use it to their advantage. Spacing them out throughout your password helps to make guesswork tricky.

For example, “$occer22” seems like a great password, it includes numbers, characters and symbols. However, “$0c22ceR” is a better option because the symbols, capital letters, and symbols are all in unexpected places making it much harder to guess.

A convenient shortcut to remembering all those passwords is letting your browser remember them for you. You’ve probably seen the option yourself and even use it on at least one site. Don’t! Despite the convenience, underpinning security is often undocumented, and it doesn’t require that your password actually be, you know, good.

These days, passwords simply aren’t enough. Your best bet is to add a two-factor authentication method. Many services such as social networks, banks, Google, and so on offer an added layer of protection. This comes in the form of a code sent to your phone via SMS, or if you want to step it up, through software solutions.

As obvious as it seems, studies have found that many people write their passwords on a sticky note and tack it to their monitor – open for anyone passing by to see. Bad idea. If you must write it down, hide it somewhere no one can find it.

Passwords are your first line of defense against hackers, so take them seriously. Contact Plow today.

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