How to choose your passwords…and keep them safe
The first step in cyber security is to choose strong passwords. They protect your identity and your money, so you need to think about them carefully. Ideally, they shouldn’t be written down and they need to be changed often and remembered.
Why do strong passwords matter?
The more we live our lives online, the greater the importance of strong passwords. All it takes is for your cellphone, tablet or laptop to be stolen, or for someone to hack into your email and they’ve hit the jackpot.
How to choose a strong password:
- Go complex. Unusual or not obvious letter, number and special character options are good. The obviously strong passwords include letters, numbers and special characters and they will be rated “strong” by the app or website you’re logging in to. However, we know how often these can be forgotten or lost – and worse, cybercriminals are becoming smarter at guessing or hacking them. Be smarter than a hacker. For example: is your child or partner’s name and date of birth on social media? Christopher01 may not be the best password, then. Create a memory link to the password to help you remember. For example: Grandmother’s name-city of birth-birthday.
- Try a passphrase. You could take a set of descriptors using random words to help you, but make them so interesting that only you can remember it. For example, a colour, an action and an animal, could be YellowDancingCat, or dog if you’re a dog person. Add a number and special character to that.
- You need more than one. Research from the global analytics company FICO found that 70% of us struggle to keep track of our passwords and end up using the same one for everything. This isn’t safe, but you can rely on your technology to help. Save passwords on a security-accessed device in its password manager. They are more secure than a piece of paper in your safe because online platforms store your passwords in an encrypted form and only allow you to access them from laptops, smartphones or tablets that you have verified. They can also inform you of any hacking attempts.
- Two-factor authentication. This means you get an SMS or an email to confirm it’s you that has logged into a certain account.
- Choose password recovery questions only you would know. Is your mother’s maiden name on social media? Think out of the box when you create security questions that can be worked out easily. Or, try using the opposite of your answer. If your favourite holiday destination is the beach, choose skiing, for online.
- Keep your software up to date. Software updates don’t always mean a new feature, it could be a bug or security issue, so update regularly.
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How to choose your passwords…and keep it safe
The first step in cyber security is to choose strong passwords. They protect your identity and your money, so you need to think about them carefully. Ideally, they shouldn’t be written down and they need to be changed often and remembered.