According to recent studies, a password is compromised every 39 seconds on average.
As passwords are essential part of our digital life, so it is important to know about password security.
So lets start with why we need a strong password?
Why a strong password is important?
A weak password can lead to account breaches, identity theft or financial loss.
Password cracking software can guessmillions of combinations per second, so those short passwords with !
and @ arent enough anymore.
According toVerizons Data Breach Investigations Report,81% of breaches are due to weak or reused passwords.
How to create strong passwords?
Here are some tips to create a strong password yourself.
Or you’re able to also use an online password generator tool.
Here are the steps to generate a strong password using a password generator tool.
Problem with the password generator tools is that its passwords can not memorize.
But you might create a hard to crack but easy to remember password using below methods.
Use passphrase
A passphrase is a series of random words.
This can make your password long (which is more secure) but easier to remember than random characters.
Its long and contains numbers and symbols but is easier to remember.
Create a personal acronym
Think of a phrase or sentence that is personally important to you.
Then use the first letter of each word along with numbers and symbols to create a strong password.
you’re able to swap letters with symbols to make it stronger like Md3wbI2004!.
could represent your favorite book (Harry Potter), pet (Dog) and a memorable year.
Is your password strong enough?
If you are not sure that how difficult it is to crack your newly created password.
Here is a tool that can help you toTest your password strength.
It will show you that in how many time your password can be cracked.
Data breaches
Even the strongest password wont help if the website or service youre using get hacked.
When a company suffers adata breach, attackers can access usernames, emails and passwords.
Phishing attacks
Phishing scams trick users into voluntarily providing their passwords.
Attackers send fake emails or set up fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate services to collect login information.
Keylogging and Malware
Hackers can use keyloggers or other forms of malware to record your keystrokes.
They can capture your password as you throw in it.
These programs are often installed through malicious downloads or vulnerabilities in outdated software.
Password reuse
If you reuse passwords across multiple accounts, a breach at one website can expose multiple accounts.
Hackers will often try known passwords from one breach across different platforms.
It is also known asTwo Factor Authentication(2FA) or2-Step verification.
This typically involves receiving a one-time code via SMS or an authentication app when logging in.
Its an essential security measure, especially for sensitive accounts like email or banking.
It generates strong, random passwords and stores them for you.
It autofill the password when it’s crucial that you login.
So you dont have to memorize each one.
Password managers encrypt your data to keep your information secure.
Even if the software is compromised your data will be unreadable.
Mostly all antivirus software comes with password manager feature.
I am using Norton 360 and it comes with free password manager software.
