World Password Day has come and gone, the annual global push for better password security. Today millions of us are still using absolutely awful passwords like names, birth dates, phone numbers, and easily guessable words . It doesn’t have to be that way. Passwords should be something that would be very difficult to break. Often a strong password has between six and ten characters (the more the better), numbers, other characters, and both upper and lowercase characters.

Password has become an integral part of our lives. Yet, so often do we hear that so and so’s account got hacked. This is because most people make the most stupid mistakes while setting their passwords.

Now we’re going to go over the most common password mistakes you can make, so you’ll know what not to do. I’ll also share some easy ways of creating a strong password and what makes a password an authentic one.


1. Using short password
Using a password that is less than six-characters is as bad as having no password at all. When you’re making new passwords, eight characters should be the absolute minimum, and 10 to 12 characters is recommended. For super important accounts, such as your banking account, a 14- to 16-character password isn’t a bad idea too. Always try to make your password long.


2. Too simple/easy to guess password
Not only using a long password, also try not use something that is easily guessable. Even a 12-character password isn’t going to do much good if it’s something as simple as “123456789012” or “abcdefghijkl.” Hackers check for things like that right away.

Even a common phrase like “maytheforcebewithyou” is something hackers look for right off the bat. They have dictionaries with millions of the most common passwords and variations, and they can crack these simple ones using home computers in minutes or even seconds. In fact, check out the recent list of the most common passwords to make sure you haven’t used any of them

A strong password needs to have a mix of uppercase and lowercase characters, along with numbers and symbols. Your password needs to be virtually random. But instead of just randomly hitting the keys, try a method that makes the password easier to remember. Start by thinking up a random sentence, a catch phrase, quote or even a song lyric like “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.”


3. Using one password for multiple accounts
As passwords get longer and more complex, it’s tempting to use the same password for every account so you have to remember only one. Unfortunately, if you do this and hackers get hold of your password for one account, say in a data breach, they can log in to all your accounts.

You need to create unique passwords for every account you have. Of course, that makes it really hard to remember your passwords, which leads to mistake number 4.


4. Writing passwords down for remembrance
Many people create strong, unique passwords and then write them down on sticky notes that they stick on their desk. Some people keep their passwords in a notebook that they leave lying around.

A hacker won’t have much chance of seeing those, but what about snooping family members or friends? What if your house gets robbed and burglars end up with your password notebook? If the burglars are smart enough, they can cause you a lot of trouble.

Instead of writing the passwords in a notebook, get a password manager. This is a program that stores and locks your passwords behind a single master password. You can create dozens of strong, unique passwords and need to remember only one.

Some popular free password managers are KeePass,Kaspersky Password Manager and many more others. Just google their names online and download free.


5. Changing your passwords regularly
You might have heard that you should change your password every six months, three months or even monthly. But I don’t think it’s a good idea you should be doing this.

Regularly changing passwords is annoying, which leads to people making passwords too simple or reusing them. In fact, people who regularly change their passwords make them 46 percent easier to guess. In general, you should change your password only if you think it’s been involved in a data breach or not strong enough.


6. Using Poor security question
During registration of account, most websites have options for recovering a forgotten password, and one of the most common ways to do this is by answering a security question you set up in advance. Unfortunately, most security questions are things a hacker or relative can figure out with little effort, such as your mother’s maiden name or the street where you grew up.

A weak security question can render the strongest password useless. So always use security questions that cannot be guessable.


7. Sharing password with your partner
Me personally I don’t by the idea of sharing password with love ones, it’s too risky! If you’ve been doing this you better stop it now.

Bonus: You should know that many online accounts have a bit of extra security you may not be using. It’s called two-factor authentication, and when it’s turned on, hackers can’t get into your account even if they know your password.


Conclusion
Good password practices aren’t glamorous, but they are very necessary. Don’t be a victim before you change your password to a let another year go by where you find yourself typing the exact same password for both your email login and your bank.

Have you discovered any tips that aren’t on this list? Let us know in the comments and please share with others.

Source: http://www.techmzy.com.ng/2016/05/06/world-password-day-here-are-7-tips-for-staying-safe-online/