Several studies have shown that the use of weak and easily guessable passwords remains incredibly common, despite a more than 30% increase in cybercrime in recent years. For example, in 2020, NordPass, a password management company, revealed that the most commonly used password was still '123456'. This password has been exposed more than 23 million times in data breaches!
The simplest thing to do is to avoid creating passwords that are easy to remember or using the same password in multiple places!
Often, when we need to create a password, we directly refer to a personal memory or event, such as a birth date, a sequence of numbers, a combination of a course entry and a date, or even worse, a sequence of numbers or letters.
This is where our password generator comes into play and helps you create strong passwords to secure your accounts. You have the option to choose different types of characters or change the length to make the password more complex.
According to current cybersecurity standards, a secure password should be at least 12 to 16 characters long. The longer a password is, the more difficult it is for hackers to crack it through a brute-force attack. However, length is not the only thing to consider when creating a strong password. Variation in character types (numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters, and symbols) helps increase the time it takes for hackers to guess your password.
With the increased use of applications, it can be challenging to keep track of all those unique and random passwords you have generated. This is where password managers come into play! They offer the centralization of data in a secure space to store your unique passwords and easily retrieve them. Most services even offer monitoring of the dark web to check if your secured data has leaked during a possible cyber attack.
- Simple sequences: Sequences like '123456', 'abcdef', or 'qwerty' are very common and will be among the first tried by any attacker.
- Default passwords: Passwords like 'admin', 'password', or 'guest' are often used as default passwords and are very easy to guess.
- Personal information: Avoid using your name, birth date, social security number, address, pet's name, or any other information that could be easily found or guessed.
- Common words: Passwords that are common dictionary words, even if slightly modified (like 'p@ssword'), are vulnerable to dictionary attacks.
- Short passwords: Short passwords are much easier to crack than longer passwords. Ideally, your password should be at least 12 characters long.
- Shared passwords: It is advisable to have unique passwords for each account to minimize the damage in case of a website's security breach.
- Unchanged passwords: Never reuse a password on multiple websites. If one site is compromised and you use the same password elsewhere, all your accounts are at risk.
For a strong password, use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and ensure it is at least 12 characters long.
If you believe your password has been compromised, you should immediately change it on the affected website(s). Make sure to use a strong and unique password for each account.