How to choose a secure password
Why is choosing a secure password important
Security of your personal data is more important than ever. Unfortunately, hackers are finding their way into our important private affairs more and more easily. Losing access to your own devices, your photos that end up on the street, important (company) information that leaks or lose a lot of money: nobody wants that! And where you unfortunately cannot stop a smart hacker, it all starts with choosing good and safe passwords. We are happy to give you a helping hand.
Why a secure password?
It seems so superfluous, all those difficult letter, number and punctuation mark combinations that you have to remember to log in to many websites and online applications. Still, it is really worth working on this and not opting for a simple word, in combination with an even simpler number combination.
Not only for the aforementioned hackers, but also for malicious people that you may have in your environment. Think of a new colleague who you don't know very well, and who sees you using the simplest password ever. Or an ex, who knows your passwords and has no intention of leaving you alone. You're so hacked, and the tracks are untraceable. It therefore starts with yourself.
What does a secure password consist of?
A good and secure password should consist of upper and lower case letters, numbers and punctuation marks, according to the police. The password must be at least 6 characters long. Our tip is to use a long sentence. It may take a little longer to type when logging in, but it's easier for you to remember and for hackers you make it a bit more difficult.
Another, and also safe, option is to use a password generator in a password manager. That may sound a bit complicated, but it isn't at all. We are happy to explain it to you.
A password manager instead of an overloaded brain
Don't want to keep your brain cracking over the tricky passwords you've created? Then a password manager might be a handy helper for you. What a password manager does is create a personal digital vault for you. You secure this safe with a master password. This password must be very strong, so you will have to practice it well. The advantage is that you only have to remember one password, because the password manager does the rest for you.
Do you open your safe? Then you can save and find your passwords here. You can choose to share passwords (which can be useful with company accounts, for example) or not at all. While logging in, the manager will help you enter the correct username in combination with the correct password. So you no longer have to think about this yourself. So you can make your password very difficult with confidence.
In a password manager you can often also have a password generated, and have it saved directly by the manager. This is always a secure password, which reduces the risk of being hacked. A good example of a secure password manager is 1password.
2 factor authentication for a bit of extra security
Is 2 factor authentication available in the login process? TO DO! With 2 factor authentication you make hacking much more difficult. What you do is add an extra verification method next to the password. This can be, for example, a code that you receive by text message or e-mail and that you must enter in order to log in. It does indeed cost you an extra step, but immediately provides you with extra security.
NB! We advise not to use the Google Authenticator for this. If you lose your phone, you will also lose all the codes it contains and it cannot be recovered. Our advice make use of authy.
Still afraid you've been hacked?
Make sure you change your passwords as soon as possible, especially if you also use a (similar) password elsewhere. Do you want more research into the hack, and whether you were really hacked? Then Strongwood can help you with this with a hack check, which you can have us carry out. You can also read our article containing 10 signs to tell if your phone contains spyware.