Online Password Tips And Tricks

[Japracool]

Every year, we lose an estimated $15 Billion to hackers. Out of all the cases of hacking, 89.51% is due to poor password alone. Password on your email, FaceBook or WordPress account, once hacked, can spiral to an even greater problem like the hacking of your online bank account or credit card.

With hackers invading the web, using a hacker-proof password is essential in protecting your online accounts. Forbes asked prominent online security researchers for tips and tricks for a hacker-proof online password. Here are their tips:

“Passwords don’t have to be hard to remember, just hard to crack. Type a sentence with lots of words and include punctuation. With enough words, it keeps the password sufficiently long but makes them easier to type and remember.” Kevine Johnson

“Changing your passwords more often based on the sensitivity of the content those accounts protect. Accounts protecting financial information, for example, should have strong passwords that are changed often and are never reused.” Jose Nazario

“Avoid password phrases like “To be, or not to be” that appear elsewhere. Deliberately misspelling words can make passwords harder to crack too.” Alexander Peslyak

“Stay away from using words and numbers that are dear to you like your pet, significant other, your mother’s maiden name, etc. That kind of information can be easy to find at sites like social networks.” Paul Judge

“If you need to write a password or pin on a piece of paper, scramble the letters. He says even something as simple as swapping or adding digits can help prevent misuse.” Paul Kocher

“You wouldn’t have the same key for your home, car and office– so don’t keep the same password for different sites either. That way, if one account is compromised you won’t give the attacker a foothold into the rest of your accounts.” Jeremiah Grossman

“Use a password manager like Keepass on Windows or 1password on Macs to generate stronger passwords than you may be able to remember.” Nate Lawson

“You should consider adding a number to the end of sentence-based password phrases for extra uniqueness.” Rich Mogull

“Avoids public wi-fi and typing passwords into other people’s machines in case a keylogger is installed. People can watch network traffic and staying away from wi-fi points at places like Starbucks can squelch the opportunity for others to “sniff” out your passwords.” Alex Sotirov

“If you have to reuse passwords, only do so at unimportant sites. Having different levels of passwords will help prevent attackers from gaining a foothold into your entire online life.” Kevin Mahaffey

“Make sure that you only log in on pages protected with SSL encryption. Look for the “s” in “https://” and you can decrease the likelihood that someone could sniff your password on an open network or public wi-fi access point. You’ll also help protect yourself against phony Web sites and other phishing attempts.” Research’s Kocher

“Cheap password management software can sometimes generate passwords that look strong but aren’t. He also warns against the default passwords generated by many Web applications, which can also be weaker than they appear.” Alexander Peslyak

“It’s much easier to secure a piece of paper than a computer. So if you need to write your passwords down, do it on a physical medium. This way bad guys have to be on premise to steal them and can’t reach into your computer from afar.” Jeremiah Grossman

“Archive important passwords so that friends and family can have access to your accounts in case tragedy strikes.” Paul Kocher

“Some people replace letters for numbers, and vice versa, in their passwords in hopes of making them more secure. So, instead of typing replace, they type r3plac3. This doesn’t always work because software can replace letters too, allowing a hacker to crack your password. You should use different numbers to replace a letter, i.e., r7plac8 not r3plac3. Alexander Peslyak

“Archive important passwords so that friends and family can have access to your accounts in case tragedy strikes.” Paul Kocher

Now that you know, make sure you make use these tips and tricks to strengthen your passwords.

Source: BloggingSetup

[Twila Zone]

These are all excellent tips. I really think people are password-out, so to speak. We need so many of them that they get lax about it, especially because they can be hard to remember. However, get hacked once and the value of paying attention becomes so worth it.

[smokey]

Excellent tips is right! I have to change my work passwords every 90 days! I also change my bank password every 90 days! It's a pain in the butt to come up with something different each time.