Passwords! Get them right and out-of-sight!
17
Apr 2009
Cyber crime has seen an increase despite the stringent cyber-security laws that have been put in place by many countries. So, on the grassroot level, the first and the foremost activity is to create a safe and dependable password.
Creating a secure password is an activity applicable for all those who use the internet. Hence, irrespective of being either a casual surfer or a professional running a website, you should understand the importance of creating a secure password.
Critics might say that securing a safe password is next to impossible these days with the advance level of technologies used by hackers these days. However, the habit of creating secure passwords is one that stands in defiance against any level of advanced technology used for hacking.
An effective employment of common sense will provide you with many unsaid rules while creating passwords. However, there are some basic rules and best practices for creating and securing passwords which are extremely useful. Some of them have been given below.
A STRONG PASSWORD SHOULD:
- Be at 8-characters long
- Never have any name identifying you, for example: Your user name, real name, and company name
- Never have a complete word
- Not seem similar to your other passwords
A STRONG PASSWORD SHOULD ALWAYS BE A MIX OF THE FOLLOWING:
- Uppercase letters: A, B, C … Z
- Lowercase letters: a, b, c … z
- Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
- Symbols found in a standard QWERTY keyboard: ` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * () _ - + = { } [ ] \ | : ; " ' < > , . ? /
A SMART WAY TO CREATE A PASSWORD:
- Create an acronym from an easy-to-remember phrase. For example: The geeks will win the World Series in 2015!
- Create the acronym by retaining the initial letters, punctuation symbols and numbers.
- Tgwwtwsi2015! You have a password in place!
DESIST FROM TESTING NEWLY CREATED PASSWORDS ON PASSWORD STRENGTH-CHECKING WEBSITES
- Most of these websites are not secure
- Some websites will even provide you with a cautionary message alerting you about the potential threats
ALWAYS CREATE A DIFFERENT PASSWORD FOR A DIFFERENT SERVICE
DURING REMEMBERING PASSWORDS:
- Never get into the habit of memorizing them, irrespective of how good a memory you might have.
- Never resort to the old-school method of writing down all your passwords on a piece of paper and keeping it in a safe location. You never know! Life is absolutely unpredictable especially in circumstances which might not be so comfortable for you. In this case, discovery of that piece of paper.
STAY SAFE FROM PHISING ATTACKS
Simply, never click a secure link directly from your e-mail. Make a habit of opening the browser and typing in the URL to gain access. If you do this, then you are safe from phishing attacks.
What is a phishing attack? A phishing attack is simply an e-mail that masquerades as a message from a website deemed to be a trusted source. For example: A message from a Credit Card Company or a bank.
GLANCE ART ON KEYBOARD:
Create a password that has letters which when seen in terms of their placement make up a letter. For example: Glance at your keyboard for this particular password: 1qazdrfvgy7. Look close and you will discover that the numbers and letters together make up the letter W of the English language.
These are some of the basic rules that you can use. These days, there are password managers available for download. Now, there are advantages and disadvantages of the password manager software. The advantages depend on the brand you choose however a general benefit is that this software stores and encrypts all your passwords. However, the major disadvantage is that this software too requires a password and this “master-password” has to be super-strong and extremely hard to crack. Although, creating such “beefed-up” “master-password” is possible but the element of risk is always there.
So get into the habit of creating passwords that are super-strong themselves and are capable of serving as “master-passwords.”
