It’s easy to take passwords and their importance for granted because of how often we use and create them. These days, almost every website requires that you use a password account. Passwords are an integral part of our modern world. 

They are the keys that protect our privacy and keep our virtual homes safe. We use passwords every day, and the importance of strong passwords cannot be overemphasized.

 Websites and software often require strong passwords, but the end user’s duty is to create strong enough passwords to withstand hackers and cyber-attacks. So, to learn more, read to the end.

Why do you need a stronger password? 

Studies show that hackers usually easily break into devices with simple passwords. A good number of the world’s population generally opt for simple passwords like “1234”, “qwerty,” “abcde,” date of birth, or names of relatives. 

People usually refuse to go for complex passwords because they are scared of forgetting them, especially when they have to memorize several of them. Using a complex password will make it harder for cybercriminals to break into your computer or smartphone by using an automated machine attack or brute-force attack and, as such, save you the inconvenience of losing money, valuable data, and sensitive information. 

To protect your device, you must avoid using any apparent sequential numbering (for example, 12345), combinations of your phone number and personal information, or a variation of your username as your password. If you are worried that you might forget your password if you make it a bit harder to guess, you should tweak a sentence or phrase that is unique to you into something unrecognizable.

For example, if you want your password to be “Football is Number One,” you can tweak it to read as “Ftbols#1” by replacing “number” with “#” and “one” with “1”. 

The more complicated your password is, the more secure your password will be. 

Ways to increase your password security

There are several ways to increase and maintain the strength of your password security, and they are:

1. When creating your password, ensure you make it a combination of letters, special characters, and numbers, as this makes it hard to guess. 
2. Suppose you need help creating a solid password yourself. In that case, you can use an offline password generator (to ensure cyber criminals do not intercept your password)—for example, Dashlane or LastPass. 
3. Update your account password regularly. At least every six months. 
4. Regularly run virus scans on your computer to ensure you aren’t hacked.
5. Do not use passwords you have used in the past.
6. Do not disclose your passwords to third parties or store them on paper or an unencrypted file. 
7. Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in addition to your passwords to increase your security. 
8. Do not save passwords or click the “remember me” button on public computers, as this can expose you. 

If you are interested in learning more about your device and network security and more about how you can keep your passwords safe from hackers on the web, contact us at Virtually Managed IT Solutions LLC.