![]() ![]() If someone discovers the password for your old Hotmail account you haven't even reviewed for a month, the damage is very containable IF this same password isn't also the key to unlocking your online bank account or ROTH IRA! Again, the value of such a strong password is greatly enhanced if you generate UNIQUE passwords for each of your various online accounts.The odds of such a password being discovered using even today's sophisticated hacking tools and powerful hardware are extremely slim. Far better than a dictionary prone phrase, is a truly strong, twenty (or greater) character password such as, "Uq7ZT2D8YeNIS9lO2tbz." This character string contains UPPER case, lower case and numeric characters.A close corollary to the first point, use pass phrases if at all possible! It is orders of magnitude more difficult to divine a pass phrase such as "simple solutions to 123 cake recipes" than "simple123.".So if your idea of a "good password" is using the word, "simple" or "simple123" even a rookie hacker is likely to be reading your email or checking your bank balance in a matter of minutes if they are so inclined. So called dictionary attacks makes it increasingly trivial to hack into an account secured by a user password, or even minor variant, which can be found in a modern dictionary. Following these steps also minimizes any potential damage (and liability) which may occur should one of your accounts happen to be compromised. Most of the advice is sage and will go a very long way towards ensuring you aren't a victim of identity theft. ![]() Online security experts often offer a number of authentication recommendations. You need to take prudent steps to protect yourself and employing a password manager is one important aspect of your online security health. If you are among this group you are far from alone and what follows is of particular value.ĬNET recently wrote this article explaining how the majority of Windows passwords can now be cracked in less than 14 seconds! Identity theft seems to be a daily news topic and even Apple Mac users who have thought themselves immune to malware and virus threats have recently been reminded that they too are targets. adding a "1" or capitalizing, when a particular site insists on one or more of these rules for acceptable password creation). An astounding number of users still attempt to "solve" this issue by using the same password, or perhaps a minor variant when necessary (i.e. First, the sheer number of authentications even a casual web user must grapple with can easily grow to thirty or more logins. Click here if you would like to review this earlier post.) There are a wealth of reasons for this advice. (I wrote about these and other productivity tools earlier this year. I have long advocated the need for using a password manager. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |