Are you reusing or following the same pattern when it comes to creating your passwords?
For most people, the answer is YES! Using the same password or a variation of the same password on all of your accounts makes it too easy for the bad guys to compromise your accounts and steal important information or money.
Studies have shown that password security is still the weakest link in keeping your data safe. Most computer users now require upwards of 20-30 passwords to access their information between home and work, this whole password game has gotten a bit out of control. It used to be that you had to just remember your PIN number for your EFTPOS card. Now you need to remember passwords for all most everything you access online. Whether it is Medicare, the ATO, or your Dan Murphy’s account they all require you to have a username and password. Don’t make them all the same!
You want to choose a password that is hard for anyone to guess. Ideally using a lengthy string of letters, numbers, and odd characters AND still, be able to remember it easily. One way to do this is by using a pass phrase rather than a password. Do this by creating a random phrase and use the first letter of every word, substitute +’s or &’s for the word ‘and’ or number like 4 for the word ‘for’. As an example, the phrase ‘I love my computer guys and they are the best company for me!’ would translate to a password of ‘ilmcg+trtnc4m’. That’s easy to remember and almost impossible to crack.
Another option is to use a Password Manager. This is a program that securely stores your passwords for all of your different applications or websites and all you need to remember is one password to get into the application. Typically, password managers link into applications like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to allow you to access your password list securely. Don’t be mistaken this is not a feature of any web browser, it is a completely separate application. Most browsers have some sort of save username and password feature, this feature should be disabled and it be replaced with a secure password manager. A password manager also has the ability to generate random passwords for you that you can use for securing a login, making it easy to do rather than having to think up a password each time. An example of this type of application is LastPass. https://www.lastpass.com/
Not all cyber-attacks can be avoided, but don’t make it any easier for hackers out there, have a strong individual password for each site and application.
Let us know if you need some help with this
Damien
