Have you noticed that many websites will not let your password include your name, last name, city, birthday, or any related word needed to create an account?

This is because including your information makes it a “weak” password.

What exactly is a weak password? What makes a strong password? A strong password is one which has a high degree of what we call entropy, or in simple terms, one that is as long and as random (in terms of both character types and sequence), as possible.

People are notoriously remiss at achieving sufficient entropy to produce satisfactory passwords.

Our passwords are much less secure than they were just a few years ago, due to faster hardware and new techniques used by password crackers. Ars Technica explains that inexpensive graphics processors enable password-cracking programs to try billions of password combinations in a second; what would have taken years to crack now may take only months or maybe days.

Making matters much worse is hackers know a lot more about our passwords than they used to. All the recent password leaks have helped hackers identify the patterns we use when creating passwords, so hackers can now use rules and algorithms to crack passwords more quickly than they could through simple common-word attacks.

 

So what measures can you take in order to avoid hacking and continue navigating the web securely?

 

The most efficient way to StaySafer is by using a different password for each site. This limits the damage that can be done if/when there’s a security breach.

You’re probably already aware that you shouldn’t be reusing the same password in multiple locations- if you use the same password for everything, and someone gets a hold of your Facebook password, they have your password for every site you visit. If you have a different password for every site, they only have access to your Facebook account—so at least all your other accounts are protected.

 

Of course, keeping track of all the different passwords may be hard, but it is definitely worth it in the long-run.

 

Another useful tip is using a random, four-word passphrase as a password- which is more secure and more memorable than complicated but shorter passwords, as web comic xkcd pointed last year. This is true, but often irrelevant, because like we said: you need to use a different password for every account. If you can remember 100 different four-word passwords, be my guest. But for most of us, it doesn’t matter how easy your passwords are to remember—there’s just too many of them. (Though the passphrase approach might be good for, say, your computer login or the few cases you need to remember your password.)

 

Still, nothing can guarantee that you will NEVER be hacked, but it could be easily avoided by using these helpful tips.Take into consideration that once someone else has access to your passwords, they have access to more personal information than you would want them to know.

StaySafer by using smarter passwords, variations, and not sharing your passwords with anyone!