Passwords are everywhere. From logging into our social networks to buying new shoes online, we could not do any of this without logging into our accounts with a password.
The internet has already become an important part of our daily lives. One could even say that our lives increasingly take place online, which means we will need to create more and more passwords — and that can cause problems. After all (and be honest), which of us uses a different password for every online platform?
Want to make the world better? Start with your password!
According to a recent Kaspersky Lab study, people fall into two groups: (1) those who use complex passwords that are hard to remember, and (2) those who create passwords that are easy to remember and easy to crack.
The password dilemma — complex, yet memorable
Accounts with complex and hard-to-remember passwords may well be much more secure, but trends show that such passwords are often forgotten. As a result, it is much easier to remember “parole123” than “Pa$$WOrdTH3G14nT123”.
However, the study results show that most people understand the need for complex, and therefore secure, passwords, indicating that the strongest passwords are needed for online banking accounts, payment apps or shopping in online stores. At the same time, 51% of people admitted that their passwords are not secure and are not stored safely — 23% said they keep their passwords in notebooks.
A password that is easy for you to remember is easy to crack
According to the Kaspersky Lab study, 10% of respondents admitted to using a single password for all of their accounts — a real threat of the accounts being hacked: if one password is used for all accounts and one of them is hacked, all of the accounts are at risk. In addition, the study showed that 17% had experienced attempts to hack their accounts or had their accounts hacked in the past 12 months.
Time to choose a new password
A single solution can solve both problems, i.e. password security and memorability: for example, a password manager or password vault, which is also surprisingly easy to use. It is a program that stores all of your passwords, making it possible to use a unique and strong password for each account. With a password manager, you only need to remember one password — the master password for the password manager itself.
How does it work? Password managers store all of your passwords in a database, also known as a password vault. The password manager encrypts the contents of the database and protects it with a master password known only to you. When you need to enter a password, for example to log into your online bank or email, you enter the master password in the manager to unlock the information in the database. In most cases, the password manager can also enter the password automatically and log in for you. This lets you use hundreds of unique strong passwords, because you do not have to remember them.
Examples: KasperskyPassword Manager, StickyPassword, PaswordBoss, etc.
Still, if you are looking for some tips on creating a password
1. Every password should be at least 15 characters long — the longer, the better.
2. Do not create passwords that are easy to guess. There is a good chance that your personal data, such as your date of birth, place of birth, partner’s name, etc., can be found online — for example, on your Facebook profile.
3. Do not use words that can be found in dictionaries (especially English ones). Dictionaries are available digitally, which means a computer does not have to spend resources generating strings of letters, as it can check ready-made words straight away.
4. Combine letters with numbers and symbols (including capital letters).
5. Create completely new passwords, i.e. do not reuse parts of passwords, such as “Dāvids 1”, “Dāvids 2”, “Dāvids 3”, etc.
6. A separate password for every account.
7. If you think your password has been compromised, change it immediately.
Sources:
1. www.kaspersky.com “Want to make the world a safer place? Start with your passwords!” https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/safer-internet-day-2018/21033/
2. www.cert.lv “OUCH! September issue — password managers”
https://cert.lv/lv/2017/09/ouch-septembra-numura-parolu-parvaldnieki
