Hackers know that most people create passwords that are easy to remember and are related to their important events. Easy passwords allow them access to your personal data that can cause harm. So you must be thinking ‘What’s the solution?’. Well, to protect your account from cyber criminals you need to create a strong password that is uncrackable. So here are a few tips that can help you do so.
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Why is it important to have a strong password?
Protecting your credentials is the most important thing that you can do to protect yourself from ransomware and cyberattacks. And once your credentials are stolen and remain active, it can be very dangerous. Stolen credentials can lead to system intrusion, data exfiltration, malware infection, and many types of fraud. So having a strong password is necessary to save yourself from such attacks.
Tips to create a strong password-
Creating a strong password is easier than you think. Just follow these simple tips-
1. Use a long passphrase:
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance, one should consider using the longest password or passphrase acceptable. Some of the uncommon passphrases that you can use is the news headline, the last book you read, or even the last place you visited. Adding some punctuation, numbers, symbols, and capital letters might help to strengthen the password.
2. Avoid using common words:
To create a strong password, avoid using common words. Instead, you can substitute letters with numbers, punctuation marks or symbols. For instance, ‘A’ can be written as ‘@’, ‘G’ can can be replaced by ‘5’, and ‘S’ can be replaced by ‘$’.
3. Don’t make passwords easy to guess:
Adding personal information like your name or birthdate makes it easier for the cyber criminals to guess and hack your device/any app. Also, stay away from obvious dictionary words. Any word on its own is bad. For instance ‘Home’ is a bad password and so is ‘home sweet home’. ‘Password’ and ‘qwerty’ are also the most common used password so avoid using it as well.
4. Get creative:
You can use phonetic replacements, such as ‘PH’ instead of ‘F’. Or make deliberate but obvious spelling mistakes like ‘sick’ as ‘sic’ or ‘engine’ as ‘enjin’.
Unique account, unique password- Having different passwords for various accounts helps prevent cyber criminals from gaining access to these accounts. It ay also protect you in the event of a breach. It’s important to mix things up and find an easy way to remember different passwords for different sites.
5. Keep your password on the down-low:
Do not share your passwords with anyone. Hackers might try to trick you into revealing your passwords through email or calls. Every time you share or reuse a password, it chips away at your security by opening up more avenues in which it could be misused or stolen.
6. Multi-factor authentication:
It is basically to double your log in protection. Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) ensures that the only person who has access to your account is you. Use it for email, banking, social media, and any other service that requires logging in. If MFA is an option, enable it by using a trusted mobile device, such as your smartphone, or an authenticator app.
7. Use password manager:
Utilize a password manger to remember all your long passwords. It is the most secure way to store all your unique passwords. With just one master password, a computer can generate and retrieve passwords for every account that you have. A few of the password manager apps that you can use is Keeper, NordPass, RoboForm.
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