Passwords are important since they help keep your personal information private and secure. Reusing, rotating, or using easy passwords can leave you open to a breach. Knowing what makes a strong password ensures maximum security for your sensitive information.

Why is Password Security Important?

Repeated use of the same passwords or creating ‘weak’ passwords can leave you vulnerable to hackers. In other words, if a hacker cracks your passwords, they could gain access to your social media accounts, bank accounts, emails, and other sensitive/confidential personal data. If someone obtains access to this information, you could become the victim of identity theft, therefore, creating a strong password is vital.  What makes a password secure? Learn more about password security here.

Password hacking can be carried out in one of the following ways:

1. Brute force attacks. A hacker uses automated software to guess your username and password combination. The software tries every possible character combination, focusing on the most used passwords first. Weak or common passwords can be relatively simple for a brute force attack to crack. While this method will eventually crack your password by cycling through every possibility until it matches your character combination, you can make it more difficult by using a complex password.
2. Dictionary. A hacker will run a ‘dictionary’ against your passwords. This dictionary includes the most common password combinations; therefore, it is a relatively easy way of hacking into weakly protected accounts. By using a single-use, strong password for each account, you are better able to protect yourself from a dictionary hack.
3. Phishing and social engineering. While not technically a hack, accessing a password using a phishing or social engineering attack, provides the ‘hacker’ with access to passwords and confidential information. Phishing occurs when a hacker targets you with spoofed emails that look like they come from legitimate organizations, while social engineering is real world phishing (i.e., requesting personal information over the phone).

Tips for Creating A Secure Password

When creating a secure password, you should:

• Never use your name, family member’s names, important dates such as anniversaries and birthdays, the word ‘password’ or sequential lists of numbers or letters.
• Never write your password down. Instead memorize your passwords and keep them private.
• Never enter a password over an insecure Wi-Fi connection. Hackers can easily intercept your private information.
• Always create different passwords for each account. Cracking one password allows a hacker to enter multiple secure accounts. You should always set a different password for each of your accounts.
• Always use long passwords. The longer the password the more secure it is. Aim for a password that is at least 6-12 characters.
• Always Use a mix of lowercase, uppercase letters, and symbols to create the most secure password possible.
• Always change automatically generated passwords. When you sign up with some companies, you receive an automatically generated password. You should change immediately.

  An easy way to make a difficult password that only you know is to think of something familiar such as a phrase. You can use a phrase like: Eye Liv3 In 0hi0 to make it extraordinarily difficult to figure out. Need help creating a password? Contact us for more information.