Is Your Password Easy To Guess? Your Online Accounts Could Be At Risk!

Ensuring that your online accounts are adequately protected is very important because if your accounts were to be breached by hackers it could cause a myriad of problems; such as hackers using your online accounts to try to trick your social media friends into sending over sensitive information or sending money to the hacker. Your social media friends may believe that it is you requesting this information which is why this tactic sometimes works. You could also be financially impacted if hackers were able to access your financial accounts or make online purchases using your banking information.

Do Not Use The Same Passwords For Multiple Different Online Accounts

If a hacker can get your login information or password for one of your accounts they may be inclined to see if the same login information works on different websites. If your login information and passwords are the same for multiple online accounts it could mean that a hacker can easily breach several of your online accounts in quick succession. This can allow hackers to steal your identity and transfer money out of your financial accounts. If you have been financially impacted by an online scam or hack you should contact your bank who will be able to maximise the chances of you getting your money back.

Stay Away From Common Passwords

Many people are guilty of picking common passwords such as “password” or “qwerty”, hackers will attempt to log in to your accounts using these first. Meaning that if you use a common password you are making it much easier for hackers to breach into your accounts. You should pick something personal to you that is not based on information that is easily accessible. 

Do Not Make Passwords Based On Information That Is Easily Accessible

Over 10% of internet users make passwords with their pet’s name in the password, most people post pictures of their pets on their social media accounts which can make it easy for hackers to obtain this information and use this information as clues to what a potential victim’s password may be. This is why it is important to ensure that there are no clues to your passwords on your social media accounts, you should instead make passwords that are a mixture of two random words such as “sportpelican”. You should also add a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, along with adding several random numbers throughout your password.

Use A Password Manager

Making highly complex passwords can make your accounts a lot more secure but it can also be difficult for you to remember the passwords yourself! Using a password manager will allow you to access your password information on an online browser plugin that will show you all your passwords, some password managers also autologin you onto your accounts as long as you have logged into the password manager itself. If you are using a password manager you must use a highly secure password for the password manager itself; if a hacker was able to get into your password manager account they would have access to all of the passwords that you have added within the password manager, which can be catastrophic for your cyber security. 

Try Using A Random Password Generator

Random password generators do what they say on the tin, they create a completely randomised password for you with a mixture of letters and numbers. Letters will be a mixture of uppercase and lowercase and there will also be a mix of special characters such as “;*%$£” which increase the password’s security and make it less likely for hackers to guess your passwords.

Change Your Password

Cyber security experts recommend that you change your online passwords at least once every 3 months, this can mean that even if hackers obtain your login information chances are it will be for an older password that you have used in the past. Which will mean that they will be prevented from accessing your online account.

Use Two Factor Security

You have probably used online accounts that have two-factor security authentication as standard, this is where when you try to log in you get a message saying that a code has been sent to an email address or phone number that is associated with the account. This email or phone number will be the one that the legitimate owner of the account imputed when they set up the account. If it was the legitimate owner of the account that made the request they can simply add the code that they have received from their email onto the website they are trying to login. However, if it was not the legitimate owner of the account that tried to log in to the account the legitimate owner of the account can see the email that the login attempt has generated and change their password to prevent future attempts by hackers. 

Regularly Scan Your Devices For Viruses And Malware

Through surfing the internet your devices can become infected with malware, keyloggers are a type of malware that tracks your keystrokes and sends this information to hackers. Meaning hackers can look out for words and phrases that look like they could be passwords, they can then combine this with any username or email address they are also able to get and use this information to get into your online accounts. Ensuring that you regularly scan your computer for malware and viruses can reduce the possibility of this happening.

To avoid malware you should also avoid clicking links on the emails that you receive, as hackers send out emails that may look legitimate or otherwise compel you to click the link, possibly by offering you an amazing deal on a popular product such as a new games console. However, once you have clicked the malicious link your computer will be infected with malware. You should also be careful about the websites you visit, most antivirus software has a function that attempts to identify malicious websites and stops users from entering the website; this means that antivirus software not only eradicates malware and viruses but it can also help prevent your devices from getting infected in the first place.

Conclusion

In recent years there have been an increasing number of cyber attacks, which is why now is more important than ever to ensure that your cyber security is in good shape.