Hello, Friends! I hope you are all doing great.

The internet is a wonderful thing. On the other hand, there are drawbacks, as there are with any good thing. Your whole identity is on the internet. Many of us use online banking and pay our bills on the internet. Proper precautions must be taken when it comes to security. I’d like to pass along some information about password security in general.

Before I begin, I don’t mean to frighten you. I simply want to give you the information so that you’ll take everything necessary into account when creating or updating a password. That being said, lets jump into it.

When it comes time to set a password, many of us think of ease of use. We want something that is easily remembered. We’ll also typically use the same password for everything. This is not the best practice. Not at all.  I’ve compiled a short list of examples of things not to use as a password.

  • Your child’s name
  • Your pet’s name
  • Any digits of your social security number, especially the last 4 digits
  • Your city
  • Your favorite sports team
  • The date of birth for yourself or your children

There are a few reasons why I would recommend highly against using any of these. Every one of these sets you up for a possible hacking attempt. There are several ways that people can hack into your accounts. Listed below are a few more popular methods.

  • Brute Force: Any password can eventually be cracked, even the longest and most complex with enough time. Brute force will literally go through every single combination until the correct password is discovered. The trick is to make sure your password is complex enough that they won’t bother with you.
  • Dictionary attack: With this type of attack, it will attempt different words from a dictionary until the correct password is found. Don’t use passwords that are only words.
  • Personal attack: Hackers will attempt different combinations of your personal information. This can include, family members names, pets names, previous addresses etc. Obviously the way to prevent this from being an effective method is to not use any of this information in your password.

You have the right to be secure online. Hackers could steal your identity, your credit etc. By following a few safety measures you can ensure that it won’t be easy for anyone to do so.

  • Substitute numbers for letters when possible, for example substitute 3 for E
  • Add capital letters randomly
  • Use different passwords for EVERYTHING
  • Use a password strength tester, many sites have them built into the sign up form
  • Use 8 or more characters, Passwords with 8 characters can take up to 57 days to crack with brute force, they won’t even bother at that point

Using these tips will set you on the right path to great password security. I hope I’ve provided some helpful insight without scaring you too much. I simply wanted to point out that the internet can be a dangerous place without proper password security.

If you have any questions, whatsoever please let us know. We are always here to provide prompt and courteous help. Let us know what we can do to improve your experience.