By Sabrina Rozer
Not everyone has done an ethical hacking course, therefore, not everyone knows how hackers can manipulate technology to find out user credentials in the blink of an eye. With the increasing rate of cyber hacks, password unbreakable becomes more crucial than ever. A password is your foremost form of defense against cybercrime and its strength decides the safety of your valuable digital property: your data. Below are some useful password protection tips that will help keep your accounts safe and private.
When it comes to unbreakable passwords, size matters! The longer your password, the harder it is to crack. Did you know that cracking a 7 character lowercase password takes only a fraction of a second? On the same hand, cracking a similar 12 character password can take up to 2 centuries!
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If you use the same password for 2 accounts, then a data leak for one of those accounts could also lead to a breach of another. Make sure that you never use the same password in two places and you're golden.
It can be a nightmare to remember all your passwords. This is actually one of the leading reasons why people keep easy, simple, and short passwords. But that harms more than it helps. Hence, use a password manager and eliminate this problem from the root. You can use a trusted password managing app like LastPass for this.
A password is your foremost form of defense against a cyber crime. Pixabay
Unlike relationships, passwords are much better if they are complicated. Including special characters, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numerals are important in your password's anatomy. You can use mnemonics to remember complex passwords, for example, 'you have to see me at four' can be changed to 'Uh2cm@4'.
The extra factor in your password's strength is multi-factor authentication. Also generally known as two-factor authentication, it adds an extra blanket of security to your credentials to insulate them from account hacks. Two-factor authentication means two-step verification where you have to provide two types of credentials to sign in. The first step is the password and the second step is either a one-time password received on your linked mobile number or your email address.
The longer your password, the harder it is to crack. Pixabay
Most of the time, your browser will ask you to save your passwords with it, so that you are relieved from the hassle of remembering them. However, CEH professionals (ethical hackers) advise against it. Saving your passwords in your browser like Google Chrome could leave you susceptible to the horrible consequences of a cyber attack. As an alternative, you can use a password manager to save your passwords and use its extension in your browser for the convenience of not having to remember them.
Keep anything that is personal out of your passwords. With social media, it is extremely easy for hackers to find out information about their target. Thus, keeping things like your pet's name or your birthday as your password is highly discouraged. Not just that, people who are close to you can easily guess your passwords in this case.
Another important tip for password protection and make passwords unbreakable is to update it regularly. Banking apps usually have the practice of expiring a password automatically after a few months, prompting you to change your password regularly. This may seem like a small thing, but it can help you in a significant way, especially in the case of a data breach. You never know when your credentials are leaked in a data breach and who has bought them off the dark web.
In the end, remember a few more things, like verifying a webpage's authenticity before entering your credentials, and not sharing your passwords or password patterns with others.
(Disclaimer: The article is sponsored and hence promotes some commercial links.)