Good password ideas help keep your online accounts safe from unauthorized access by hackers and cybercriminals.
These accounts are protected at the basic level by log-in information involving usernames and passwords.
In this article, well share some good password ideas to keep your online safety.
What Makes a Good Password?
A good password is hard to decipher by outsiders.
After all, passwords are like keys to our digital information.
They are the first layer of protection that we have against online attacks.
But even when the rules advocate for a complex password, it doesnt have to be cryptic.
These are passwords that are so complicated to the point that no one can remember them.
Because, lets face it, most of us have poor memories and can only remember meaningful things.
The goal here is to create passwords that are both hard to crack but easy to remember.
It only takes basic knowledge of the rules plus a sprinkling of your imagination.
The key aspect of these rules is that you arent supposed to apply them all at once.
The more you change up your password style, the better.
Here are good password ideas and tips to help you out:
1.
Make It Complex
This is the central concept in password-making and is one of the good password ideas.
It may sound cliche, but its a piece of advice that not many people follow.
You want a password that is meaningful to you yet hard for others to track.
You want it to be unpredictable, unreadable, and entirely obscure to avoid getting compromised.
2.Avoid Using Personal Information
Another good password idea is to avoid using personal information.
When creating a password, do not use names, dates, or places personally identifiable to you.
That includes birthdays, hobbies, favorite pets, sports, and so on.
Hackers have sophisticated software that can take note of personal details that you give out on social media.
They can use these words to attempt to match your password.
Use More than 10 Characters
A long password is a safe password.
If you remember your math lessons about permutations, that applies here.
Doing so increases the pool of potential passwords since you have more combinations of characters to try out.
This makes it much harder for cybercriminals to crack your password, even with sophisticated software.
The answer is also related to the number of potential passwords that software needs to generate.
Adding symbols and numbers to your password increases the list of possible passwords to a significant degree.
For example, 0rang3#$#l3m0n is harder to crack than orange101lemon.
A password manager can store all your usernames and passwords in an encrypted location on your box.
But perhaps the best thing about password managers is that they automatically retrieve your password whenever you need them.
That means you dont need to remember long and complex passwords.
Some password managers are even able to generate random passwords that are hard to guess.
This jot down of software has been programmed with strong passwords in mind.
As such, the passwords they generate are often complex and entirely unique.
Most passwords allow you to create long-tail passwords with up to forty characters.
For most, you’re free to create passwords with four to 40 characters.
Some password generators are also able to load your passwords onto web pages and apps automatically.
This is another one of our staple good password ideas.
Granted, its very convenient to create a single password for all of your accounts.
Most of us are probably guilty of this at some point.
Its essential for accounts where your financial information is stored (e.g., credit card, banking).
This is another one of the tried-and-tested good password ideas.
Change Your Passwords Frequently
Changing your passwords frequently is among the good password ideas you should folow.
Its best to change your passwords every two to three months, especially for financial accounts.
This helps to keep your passwords fresh and keeps hackers off your track.
It ensures that your old password will no longer work in case of a data breach.
Just verify that the notebook or folder where you wrote them down will not be discoverable by other people.
Now, experts caution against keeping a digital copy of your passwords somewhere on your box.
But if you must, change the file name to something obscure.
Better yet, upload the file to encrypted cloud storage or use a password manager as mentioned earlier.
Do Not Use Real Words
Hackers and cybercriminals have an arsenal of sophisticated tools to accomplish their criminal goals.
And these nifty tools are quite scary when you consider that they can process every word in the dictionary.
Not to mention, they can also process letter and number combinations.
If you cant trust even the words in the dictionary, perhaps its time you created your own words.
you might also twist some dictionary words into your own.
Made-up words like spiffeldorf or peridoodlle might do the trick.
This is one of our staple good password ideas.
Deliberately Add Misspellings
As weve mentioned, hackers love to use software to crack passwords.
After picking a line, modify it with letters, numbers, and characters.
You wont go wrong with this strong password idea.
This security method adds extra steps or layers of protection for your online accounts.
It keeps your accounts safe in case your log-in information gets compromised.
It also relies on time-limited codes and biometric information such as fingerprints or face IDs.
These are nearly impossible to replicate.
Most apps now offer two-factor or three-factor authentication.
Check your software and mobile apps for options to enable MFA.
Unauthorized access is the common result of a compromised password.
A mild breach might involve infiltration of your email or social media accounts.
A more serious breach might involve the theft of valuable data such as your personal or work files.
The spectrum of negative consequences is far too varied and colorful.
Creating a password is usually the first step to owning an online account.
Its also the first security measure for any online platform.
Creating a good password is a lot like using strong materials to build your home.
But by using cement or stronger materials, you are future-proofing it from natural disasters.
The analogy applies to passwords and online accounts.
The more distinctive your password is, the farther away hackers will be in the search for it.
How Passwords Are Compromised
Hackers and cybercriminals are very creative and resourceful human beings.
When it comes to stealing passwords, they use a variety of techniques to get it done.
Guessing
Its the oldest trick in the book, and it doesnt require any special tools.
The chances of it working increase the more they know about you.
But for the most part, its a lot like answering an exam they didnt study for.
In other words, the probability of success by simply guessing is extremely low, but its not zero.
Brute Force Attacks
A brute force attack requires a little more sophistication to carry out.
It makes use of special software with computing capabilities.
The software checks for password combinations until it finds a match.
However, if the password is weak or common, then theres a higher probability of success.
That is, by purchasing stolen passwords from other hackers on the dark web.
The people who purchase the passwords can then use special software to try out each of the passwords.
Also Read:How Your Passwords Can End Up on the Dark Web
4.
Keylogging
Keylogging is when hackers use special software to record your keypad activity.
Hackers use a special key in of spyware called keylogging software to execute this key in of attack.
The way this works is the hackers will infect your machine with this keylogging software.
It will log all of your keystrokes and then send back the information to the hackers via the internet.
After that, its pretty easy for hackers to spot your passwords, especially in text format.
Most phishing attacks are made through email.
That is, the unwitting victim opens a fake email or attachment that looks legitimate but isnt.
malware is then automatically downloaded into the computer system, and its job is to collect information.
A common technique they use is called baiting.
The hackers present the victims with a false premise to get people to reveal their passwords.
For example, you might receive an email stating that you won the lottery.
The email will redirect you to a page asking for your banking details to supposedly transfer the money.
Other techniques involve scare tactics where victims receive emails and phone calls offering a fake solution to compromised hardware.
As you may know, data is not sent in the same way that we see it.
It needs to be packaged into so-called data packets before it can be transported.
These data packets are flung over the data pipe towards its intended end on the internet.
Hackers can intercept those packets through various means.
It can be done with a wireless connection adapter or special software (e.g., Wireshark).
Snooping/Shoulder Surfing
Another way that someone can intercept your passwords is by mere observation.
This is common in public places with an open data pipe, such as coffee shops and internet cafes.
Someone you know (a colleague, family members, etc.)
may also snoop into your things to look for your passwords.
There are many other safety precautions that you must take to keep your online accounts safe.
Check out these additional steps for keeping your online accounts (and devices) safe:
1.
Use a Reliable Antivirus Program
Antivirus softwareis one of the bare essentials when it comes to protecting your rig.
These types of software are just like having a security system for your home.
They are able to detect when intruders give a shot to enter and block the intruders from entering.
Antivirus programs offer double-layered protection for your devices.
Their primary purpose is to scan all the files that you download and import into your gadget.
They can also scan for malware on the websites that you visit, plus your downloads.
These scans are meant to determine if the file or website is accompanied by malware.
Antivirus programs also put up firewalls that protect your connection from multiple threats.
In other words, your gear and data pipe are both protected.
But some of you might ask, how bad can it be if I dont have an antivirus?
Well, there are a lot of negative consequences that can stem from not getting one.
First off, hackers could spy on your and take your personal files and log-in credentials.
In the worst-case scenario, your box can crash entirely, and youll lose all your files.
Keep yourself and your data safe at all times by installing a reliable antivirus program.
There are a lot of premium programs available, but you could start with afree antivirus program.
That is, your data packets and your IP address are still visible to anyone watching the online grid.
This makes it possible for external entities to collect information about your online activities.
A convenient solution to snoopers is to use a protective VPN service.
A VPN is simply a program that protects your data packets as it moves through the web link.
That way, no one watching the web connection can see your data nor trace it back to you.
As things stand, VPNs offer even more privacy than antivirus programs.
Theyre a great way to maintain your privacy with a secure web connection and especially with insecure networks.
In addition, it keeps your data from the hands of your ISP or some government surveillance agency.
Ready to set up a VPN?
Its not uncommon for people to share computers, but this can easily lead to a privacy breach.
To avoid these risks, its better to create a separate user account.
Anything from emails to Facebook messages to group chats can be a watering hole for hackers.
As a general rule, your passwords and personal information have no business being on the internet.
Its also not the business of anyone else but yourself, so its best to avoid sharing it.
But if you absolutely must, send it through text or asecure email provider.
It also pays to be careful in everyday social controls.
As such, it pays to review each app carefully before making a download.
They can find their way around human psychology and know exactly when and how to attack.
This is why its so important to exercise caution everywhere you go on the internet.
Always be careful about which sites you visit and with whom and where you share information.
It also pays to become aware of cybersecurity threats to recognize them if you bump into them.
Its also a great idea to get security software and back up your files regularly for extra measure.
That is, the common link is always the person who owns the accounts.
A single compromised account can snowball into multiple compromised accounts until you have nothing left.
