Passwords are crucial to keeping your accounts secure. However, many people do not set up their passwords in the right way. It can be easy to create a weak password which would leave your accounts at risk.
Your passwords can be stolen which will give the cybercriminals access to your accounts. If you have been using the same password for multiple accounts, it will allow them to breach all of your accounts at the same time.
If you struggle to create strong passwords that will keep cybercriminals out of your accounts, read on to find out how to do that. You will also discover the importance of regularly changing your passwords.
How to Create Strong Passwords
The majority of people create weak passwords that are easy for them to remember. A weak password consists of words, phrases or letters that relate to our personal information. This can make them easier to guess.
All a cybercriminal would need to do in this case is find some of your personal information and attempt to guess your passwords. Many people use their names and date of birth to create passwords, however, this information can be easy for cybercriminals to find.
In order to create a strong password, you need to use words, numbers or symbols that do not relate to any of your personal information. Studies have found that the strongest passwords are those that contain completely random words or numbers.
Furthermore, you need to create unique passwords for each of your accounts. Doing so will prevent multiple different accounts from being breached at the same time. If a cybercriminal is able to guess one of your passwords, they will immediately try the same password on different accounts to try and gain access to them.
Why You Should Regularly Change Your Passwords
Sometimes having strong and unique passwords is not enough to keep cybercriminals out of your accounts. Cybercriminals are constantly developing new ways to steal your passwords, oftentimes without your knowledge.
One popular trend used to steal passwords is phishing scams. Phishing has been around for many years, however, in recent times hackers have begun to create more convincing scams by using social engineering.
Social engineering involves using companies or platforms that you know and trust, so the victim wouldn’t think twice about entering their login credentials. Even in our modern society, millions of people fall victim to phishing scams annually because they have become so convincing.
One example of the latest in phishing trends is where the cybercriminal will use a popular platform such as Netflix to lure in an unsuspecting victim. The victim will receive an email from ‘Netflix’ which states that they need to update their billing information or their account will be suspended.
The content within the email looks convincing because it will contain the Netflix logo and color scheme. You will be asked to click on the link that redirects you to a webpage, which also replicates the Netflix website very accurately.
The website will have a keylogger installed on it, which will be able to record everything that you type in. This can include your login credentials and banking information. Once the hacker gets hold of your login credentials they can use it to access your account. They will also be using the safe information to try and access other accounts that you might have.
Spotting a modern phishing scam can be difficult, but it is not impossible. You need to be on the lookout for anything that looks suspicious, such as spelling or grammatical errors and even email addresses and links that seem sketchy and out of place.
You should also avoid interacting with links and attachments found on emails. It is best to visit the website manually as opposed to following a link in the email itself.
Regularly changing your password will help to keep your accounts secure. If a cybercriminal were to get hold of your login credentials, it will quickly become outdated as you change your passwords, locking them out of your account in the process.
How to Keep Your Accounts Secure
Keeping your accounts secure is important. Our passwords keep some of our most valuable information safe. From emails to bank accounts, we must be able to rely on our passwords to protect our accounts.
While it is important to use strong and unique passwords, it can be difficult to remember them. Many people may be tempted to allow their browser to remember their passwords, however, this system is not secure. The default password manager on your browser can easily be breached by a cybercriminal, which will give them access to all your account’s login credentials.
To keep all your login credentials in a safe place, you must use a premium third-party password manager. These are more secure as they have a master key that is randomly generated specifically for your account. Only you have access to this master key, and it is required to log in to your password manager.
Having a secure password manager will help you to keep track of all your passwords, which will allow you to create strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts. This will make it much more difficult for cybercriminals to break into your accounts.
Another feature you should make use of is login notifications. Many people overlook this feature as they do not want to be notified every time they log in to their accounts. However, this feature would help you a great deal in the case of a security breach.
If you receive a login notification and you know it wasn’t you, you can take action immediately and prevent any further damage from being done. You will then also know that your accounts are not secure and that a cybercriminal has somehow gotten hold of your login credentials.
