The main reason why having a password is to protect your accounts from fraudulent activity. But what if you’re making yourself a target for hacking activities by inputting password mistakes? Choosing a password strong enough to ward off offenders is necessary to keep your personal information safe online.
You’ve probably heard of people crying that their accounts got hacked. They lost money, passwords, and other important info on the web to these malicious intents.
five mistakes when choosing a password for your account
Using the same password all over
Always use different passwords every time you sign up for an online account. For websites that require payment with credit card, make sure to use strong passwords that are hard to guess.
A hacker will try to infiltrate weak and problematic sites. If he sees your info being the same all over the net, he can gain access to all your accounts.
Short passwords
Short passwords are easy to guess. That’s why many websites require you to input six or eight alphanumeric keys. It’s better to create longer passwords with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Common lists of short passwords are qwerty, admin, login, and iloveyou. About five million accounts were hacked and leaked by thefts last year to reveal the most concerning data info security.
Using familiar names
Using your family’s names for a password? Then a thief will easily penetrate your accounts. Emily, Alden, Michael, and Faviona? If you like to share to the world your kids’ names, likely the hacker will guess it too.
Not only you’re baring to thefts of your passwords, but your sharing personal and intimate info about your family too.
Easy to remember and overused passwords
You’ve probably read that Mr. Bean’s password is “password,” and tried doing that too. Trust us, you’re one of the million people who’ve done it and got hacked, right?
People use easy-to-remember passwords to avoid the hassle of logging in and forgetting about everything. Starwars, passwords, and 123456 are the passwords often used to remember all accounts.
Numbers are no-no’s too
If the hacker finds out that you’re using numbers for your password, he’ll think of the easiest ones for you to remember. As mentioned, 12356 is one – but, also 143 (iloveyou), telephone numbers, year, and birthdays.
Avoid using numeric passwords that you use for your credit card and bank pin. Once the hacker gets hold of them all, you’ll surely lose a whole lot of moolah.
Simple tips on improving your passwords
Want to strengthen your passwords? Heed these tips to avoid fraud!
1. Combine letters and alphanumeric keys while choosing random passwords.
2. Choose a password that contains 12 or more characters.
3. Sign up for a password manager program that stores your PWs in case you forget.
4. You can always back them up with a physical copy. Make sure you’re the only one to have access to that piece of paper.
5. Don’t click “Remember me” if you share a computer with other users.
It is fundamental to the success of your business and you want peace of mind that it will be up and available for your audience 24/7 without interruption. Your site builds trust and credibility with your customers and is probably the single most important marketing tool your business has.
