World Password Day: Time To Get More Creative To Avoid Getting Hacked | TechTree.com

World Password Day: Time To Get More Creative To Avoid Getting Hacked

Here are some simple steps to protect your password and avoid getting hacked.

 

Despite phenomenal rise in cyber security breaches and warnings by security experts, it appears that some internet users have not updated their passwords to a more secure one. On World Password Day, observed on May 2 every year to raise awareness on the criticality of using strong passwords, a new report by cyber security firm Sophos reveals that ‘123456’ was the most attempted login password this year.

Top 5 passwords (Mumbai)

No. of login attempts

(Mumbai)

Top 5 passwords (Globally)

No. of login attempts

(Globally)

123456

1,376

123456

15,785

1234

1,335

Admin

12,605

Admin

1,156

1234

9,583

Ubnt

912

password

9,034

12345

761

12345

7,145

 

Sophos recommends that using simple, easy to guess, or a commonly used bad password make your account more susceptible to hacking, which can lead to financial fraud or having your personal information exposed or leaked.

Here are some steps to protect your password.

- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA): Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible. This adds an additional layer of protection against someone trying to access personal accounts.

 -  Use complex passcodes for devices: It’s not just passwords for email addresses and social media accounts that need to be secure. Ensure that the login for laptops and mobile phones also have complex passcodes.

- Use a password manager: To give passwords the best possible chance of not appearing on Pwned Passwords, use a properly secured password manager that will create and store secure passwords.

-   Learn how to choose proper passwords: Most of people end up with dozens of online accounts and have to create passwords all the time. Even with a password manager, create one really excellent password is needed to lock the central ‘password vault.’

-   Use unique passwords for online banking: Sensitive accounts need special passwords. This includes banking and other accounts where financial data is accessed and stored.

“Passwords are an important aspect of computer security - they are the front line of protection for user accounts in a very wide variety of services and systems. Unfortunately, people are not changing factory default passwords, which cyber criminals are counting on to carry out their attacks,” said Sunil Sharma, managing director sales, Sophos India & SAARC.

He adds that building strong, unique passwords and using a password manager to keep track of them is a best security practice everyone should use in this digital age.

 


TAGS: world password day, Hackers

 
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