If you have ever used passwords like ‘123456’ or ‘abcdef’, to protect any of your accounts, there’s a high chance that account has gotten hacked.
In this tech-centric era, unauthorized data access has become a serious issue for anyone using a computer or other high-tech devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Any of these devices can communicate with other computing devices to share information, and in many situations, they are potentially vulnerable to unauthorized user exploitation.
The best practice is to use strong passwords as the first line of defence against unwanted access. The more secure your password is, the more secure your device will be against hackers and dangerous software. However, users often fail to properly secure their accounts. In fact, over 80% of data breaches online exist due to poor password security. With the growth of the internet, the number of hackers searching for suspicious networks has also expanded significantly.
Approximately 70% of victims of this illegal activity had concerns such as unauthorized downloads, identity theft, and incorrect access to financial information on their computers. As a result, protecting private data is more important in life.
To help you with password security management, we have compiled this guide. If you ever had an account hacked, worry no more. Because by using these techniques, you can ensure no such incident occurs again in the future. Let’s begin:
Popular Password Cracking Techniques
Dictionary Words
When hackers try to access your accounts, they use several dictionaries to try to crack your passwords. This covers English and foreign words, as well as phonetic patterns. So, while you may believe that opening a dictionary and randomly selecting a word is safe, it is not.
Easy-to-Crack Passwords
Never use your name, the names of family members, important dates such as anniversaries and birthdays, unique places, the word 'password,' or sequential groups of numbers or letters to establish a secure password. They are far too simple to break and should be avoided at all costs.
Notes of Password
Sadly, 2 out of every 5 people have their passwords compromised due to duplication. This makes sense because it is easier for someone to access your accounts if you write down your passwords and keep them somewhere visible, especially near your computer. Instead, memorize and keep your passwords confidential.
Cracking Security Questions
Many people use their spouses', children's, other relatives, or pets' names in security questions or as passwords. These types of responses are commonly discovered on your social media profile and can be extrapolated with little research. This technique is made much easier because numerous sites employ the same security questions and users reuse their security-question answer pairs across sites.
Phishing
Phishing is the most despicable of techniques, in which hackers use social engineering to trick, scare, or compel you into unintentionally doing what they want. A phishing email may inform you that something is wrong with your credit card account. It will direct you to click a link that will take you to a fake website designed to look like your credit card provider. The scammers wait, hoping the trick is successful and you'll now enter your password. They have it once you do.
Best Password Management Practices
These ideas will help you to make your digital life safer:
Use Strong Passwords
Hackers will find it more difficult to guess your password as it becomes more complicated with strong passwords. When creating a password, use a combination of uppercase, lowercase, symbols, and digits. We recommend that you avoid using birth dates, birth rates, or phone numbers in all of your accounts that use the same password. Tell no one about your users or passwords. Update your account and home network passwords at least every two months.
The following are some common guidelines for building a Strong Password:
- A strong password should have at least 8 characters.
- Uppercase and lowercase alphabetic characters (e.g. A-Z, a-z)
- At least one numeric character is required (e.g. 0-9)
- Include at least one special character (for example,!@#$ percent &*() -+=).
- Strong passwords do not work if you spell a word or a set of words from a standard dictionary.
- Spell a word with a number appended at the start and end.
Turn Off the 'Save Password' Feature in Browsers
When it comes to what your browser knows about you, most browsers come with a built-in password management option. However, we don't suggest them. We believe it is better to leave password protection to the professionals who create password managers. Consider this. When you install a third-party password manager, it will usually offer to import your password from the browser's stored passwords. If the password manager can accomplish that, you can bet malicious software can as well. Furthermore, storing your credentials in a centralized password manager allows you to use them across all browsers and devices.
