Everyone knows that it is important to choose a secure password, but how do you do that in practice?
For a password to be secure, it needs to be both unique and strong.
What is a Unique Password?
A unique password means one that you only use once. It is so tempting to use the same password for lots of different things, to save having to remember lots of different ones. But that is like having only one key on your key-ring, that can be used to open your house, your car, your shed, and everything else you own!
Our online accounts are interconnected. If one of your passwords is breached, and you are using it for other accounts, the cyber criminal will have access to the rest of your accounts.
And even if you are careful not to give out your password, there are many ways that your login details could be leaked, so don’t be complacent.
What is a Strong Password?
A strong password is one which is hard to guess, and not easy to find out.
If you use the name of a loved one or pet, these can be easily guessed by someone who knows you. What’s more, they can easily be found out by someone who doesn’t know you – the amount of personal information out there on the internet is enormous, especially now we’re sharing more and more of it on social media!
It is easy for computers to test out millions of different possibilities for passwords very quickly, so cyber criminals can run through lots of options in no time.
A strong password should have a mixture of upper and lower case letters, as well as numbers and symbols, and be longer than 6-8 characters.
Test your password
Why not try entering passwords into this Password Strength Checker before use, to check that they’re measuring up, and will serve you well?!
Need any more advice?
If you want further advice on passwords, or any other IT security issue, why more have a look at datamills’ “Baseline Secure” page on our website, or give us a call on 0114 287 0510. If you are new to datamills, you might also like to try our Free Consultation and IT Review.