Time to break your oldest habit: your password
Friday, 1st April 2022
One password. Two passwords. Red password. Blue password.
As computers get smaller, passwords get longer, and more and more of us are using the same password across all our accounts. While the convenience of using one password across multiple sites is enticing, you’re putting yourself at great risk.
Password requirements continue to change, and it can be tempting to just add a number or letter at the end of your go-to password. And while we’d like to believe this keeps us secure, the reality is, it doesn’t.
If you think you’re OK because you have different passwords across different sites, but they contain names, dates, or addresses, think again. Simplistic passwords or passwords containing easy to guess information such as nicknames or anniversaries won’t protect you.
There’s no such thing as a foolproof password, but you can make your password harder to crack.
12 characters. 1 number. 1 symbol.
Longer passwords are always harder to guess and using a mixture of upper and lower-case letters is important. Throw some numbers and a symbol or two into the mix and you’ve got a password so hard to guess not even your best friend could work it out!
So next time you’ve got a free afternoon, sit down and go through all your accounts. Update your passwords, make them something unique, and never share your password.
Passwords only protect you if you protect them.
Source: Crime Stoppers Victoria
