Today May 5th, 2020 is – World Password Day 2020
Each year on the first Thursday in May, World Password Day promotes better password habits. Passwords are critical gatekeepers to our digital identities, allowing us to access online shopping, dating, banking, social media, private work, and life communications. In a cyber world, secure passwords are important.
Commenting on world password day Adam Palmer, Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at Tenable said, “Inspired by Mark Burnett’s book – Perfect Passwords, Intel took the initiative and introduced ‘World Password Day’ in 2013 to raise awareness to the importance of creating strong passwords – seven years later and it’s still a bone of contention! The sheer volume of stolen users’ passwords available for sale on the Dark Web highlights that the issue is less about creating strong passwords or phrases, and more about users creating unique codes for each online account to limit the damage from database breaches.
Every time a researcher with time on their hands searches through the stolen password databases, it reveals millions are still using 123456 as a password, so the chances of changing password behavior is nothing short of a miracle.
“Given the reliance on passwords doesn’t appear to be reducing, and if anything our virtual identities are increasing, password managers that create and store complex passwords are essential. This year, as a spotlight is once again shone on passwords, instead of advocating complex recipes and codes, do yourself a favor and automate.
PASSWORDS – TIPS & TRICKS | SOURCE: McAfee
1. Check To See Whether Your Passwords Have Been Exposed
The first step is to see whether your passwords have been compromised in a data breach. Check out www.haveibeenpwned.com.au to see whether cybercriminals have already discovered your passwords. If so, then they need to be changed wherever they are used ASAP.
2. Commit to Not Using Common Passwords
Using common passwords such as ‘password’, ‘123456’ or ‘qwerty’ is quite frankly, a waste of time. It would take cybercriminals a matter of seconds to unlock your online banking data. Also avoid using simple personal details within your passwords such as your birthday, name or kids and pet names as a quick scan of your social media accounts would allow cybercriminals to find this in just seconds. Always make your passwords random and obscure. Why not consider a nonsensical sentence?
3. Add Numbers and Symbols to Your Passwords
When you are setting up a new online account, many organizations will require you to add a number or symbol to your proposed password to give it additional ‘password strength’. Passwords that include a variety of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols are far harder to crack so get creative and layer up your passwords.
4. Ensure Every Password Is Unique
Many people use the same password across all of their online accounts. And while this makes life easier, it increases your risk of your vital online data being compromised big time. Remember, if a hacker discovers just one of your passwords – and it’s the only one you use – all of your online personal information is at risk! Therefore, it is crucial to ensure all your passwords are different! I know, it sounds like a lot of work and brainpower!
5. Simplify Your Life with a Password Manager
If the idea of creating individual complex passwords for each of your online accounts – oh, and changing them every 2 months, is giving you palpitations, then I have a solution – a password manager!
McAfee’s Total Protection includes Password Manager, which stores, auto-fills, and even generate unique passwords. Creating and remembering (!) complex passwords for each online account is taken care off. All you need to do is remember one master password in order to access the rest of the passwords! And if there is a data breach, it’s super easy to quickly change a password too.
6. Set up Two-Factor Authentication Where Possible
If you have the option to enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication with any of your online accounts, then do it!! In simple terms, this will mean that you need to provide more than one way of identifying yourself before gaining access to your account. Often it is your password plus a code sent to your smartphone or even your fingerprint. It’s an absolute no-brainer as it adds another layer of security making it harder to cybercriminals to access your vital online data.
