Tips on creating an ironclad password.
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We’ve talked about passwords in a previous blog where we explained that passwords are important for the safety and security of accounts, websites, documents and more. There’s an increasing number of hackers and cybercriminals, so online security is more important than ever. A cheap and fast way to make it harder for cybercriminals is creating strong and varied passwords. Sounds easy enough, but how do you create strong passwords that are also memorable? We’ll share our secrets with you in this blog.
1. Size matters!
When it comes to passwords, size, or mostly length, does matter. A password with 12 characters is 80 million times stronger (!) than one with 8 characters. Try to come up with a long password. You can do this by using a password in sentence form or fixed and variable parts in a password. For example: Ihave300Waterbottles for Facebook and JumboJet356Gold for Twitter. (Take the examples as an inspiration, we do not advise you to use these literal examples as your password) It’s also worth noting that some phones or laptops automatically generate a strong password for you.
2. Don’t use easy to guess information
Try to avoid personal information like names, addresses, birthday numbers or any other personal information that is easy to guess Hackers are very good at this. Patterns such as 123456 or 54321 are also easy to guess.
3. Two-Step Verification
More and more websites and accounts that require login offer two-step verification. With a two-step verification, when logging in, you must, for example, enter a code in addition to your password that you receive in your e-mail or via text message. This creates a double lock on your account.
4. Different passwords
It’s important to create as much passwords as you can, preferably for every account a different one, to maintain security. This way you prevent multiple or all your accounts from being at risk when a single password is leaked or cracked. To make it easier to remember, you can use the passwords with a fixed and variable part or use a password manager, for example: LastPass.
5. Be careful when entering your passwords
Don’t just enter your password anywhere. Cybercriminals can create fake websites and emails to make you think you’re at the right company or right website. This way they can easily steal your data. Never just enter your password on sites where you ended up via a link and always check whether the connection is secure. You can often already see whether the connection is secured via the icon (the lock) in the address bar.
6. Change your passwords every now and then
We know it’s dreadful but do try to change your password at least once a year. Using a password manager can help you organise, and some will even automatically update your new password. Hopefully, with these tips you can better secure your accounts and login details and keep unwanted guests outside!
More tips?
Do you have a company or organization? Then (online) data security is extra important. For municipalities, we have provided a PDF with additional tips. You can download it by filling in the form below.
