In this post, we will cover some useful tips and tricks to help you create, keep safe and secure your password. The definition of a password is “a secret word or phrase that must be used to gain admission to a place.”
How to create a secure password?
- When creating a password it is always good to use something that you will remember, but it also has to be something that is not obvious for someone who may or may not know you personally to guess.
- Most password fields will now ask for your password to be between 8 and 40 characters and include numbers, a mix of capital and lower case letters and a symbol. This is because the more variable the characters are, the less likely that a password will be cracked.
- You can create a password by using a sentence and taking each first letter from every word to create a password that is more than 8 characters long. Example Yccapbuasateflfewtcaptimt8cl. You can make this more memorable by choosing something that sounds funny that you will remember.
What not to use in a password
- Don’t use the name of anyone you know or date of birth as a password. This can be found out by anyone easily through social media or anyone who knows you and your family.
- Don’t use answers to security questions as passwords. Example: Mothers maiden name? The name of pet? What school did you go to? Name of your favourite teacher? Road name which you first lived on?
- Don’t use the same password as you would for banking, pin numbers, account numbers or card numbers.
- Don’t use Password as the password, an obvious one but people still use it.
- Do not use other personal information that is accessed by others such as phone numbers.
How often are they changed?
Passwords should be changed every 6 to 12 months to avoid being hacked. This can be a lot to ask especially if you are forgetful, but the more often they are changed the less likely the password will be cracked.
Tips to keep your passwords safe!
- Ensure that no one knows your passwords unless it is a shared account.
- Don’t give out passwords to any accounts over the phone or via email/webchats
- Don’t write passwords down. If you have a poor memory and need something to remember your password, write yourself a hint in order to prompt your memory.
- If you have a lot of passwords and need help in remembering them you can use password management tools but it is best to have a master password to access this one that would be very difficult for anyone but you to know.
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