How to Create a Strong Password to Secure Your Accounts
2012 has definitely has its fair share of data security breaches. With the ever-increasing number of internet users…..and the growing number of cyber security threats, data security will definitely continue to be a hot topic.
Some of the most notorious data security breaches of 2012 were:
Yahoo – Yep, that’s right! Yahoo’s data security breach resulted in approximately 400,000 passwords that were compromised. What’s worse about this security breach is that the criminals that hacked into Yahoo’s servers posted this information on the Internet.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn’s data security breach led to the exposure of 6.5 million user passwords. Luckily, most of the passwords were hashed…..which made it a little harder for them to be cracked.
Apple – Ya don’t say. Apples security breach was definitely the largest one of 2012. Reportedly, there were over 12 million Apple device identification records hacked. Cyber thieves were able to retrieve this information via the laptop of an FBI Agent.
These examples of data security breaches go to show you that no company, no matter how big or small or person is immune to these kinds of attacks.
What’s even more troubling is that according to Venturebeat.com, a survey conducted by Dashlane revealed that computer users engage in behavior that make it easy for hackers to gain access to their personal information due to: Reusing the same passwords on more than one website, not changing their passwords regularly, and not using strong passwords.
How to Create a Strong Password to Secure Your Accounts
Her are four tips that will help you create strong passwords to secure your accounts.
- Do NOT use common words that can be found in the dictionary.
- Use a combination of Upper and Lower Case Letters, Numbers and Special Characters – Weak Password Ex: secret Strong Password Ex: 1Secr3T!2
- Be sure that your passwords are at least 8 characters long.
- It’s best to not use passwords that contain your name, address or other personal information.
Here’s a FREE password generation tool that you can use right away to create a strong password for your accounts: http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/.
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