Understanding Passwords

Protecting Your Accounts Safe: The Importance of Strong Passwords

In today's digital world, we rely heavily on online accounts for everything from banking and shopping to social media and email. However, with the increasing number of cyber threats, it is crucial to take steps to protect your personal information and online accounts from unauthorized access. One of the most effective ways to do this is by using strong, unique, and complex passwords.

Strong & Complex Passwords

Cyber criminals often use sophisticated techniques to guess or "crack" passwords, and weak passwords make their job much easier. Strong passwords, on the other hand, act as a first line of defense (we'll talk about others later!), deterring unauthorized access and protecting your sensitive information. Believe it or not, you can purchase files containing billions of commonly used passwords on the internet. Attackers can run programs to automate trying those passwords to login to your accounts. Short passwords containing common words with a few numbers at the end are not enough if someone really wants to get in.

Complex passwords make it difficult to guess and strengthen your first line of defense. Most websites allow you to use at least 32 letters, numbers, and special characters when creating your passwords, it is advised to take advantage of this. Combinations of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters are key.

Unique Passwords

Many people use the same password for all of their accounts. This is a risky move, if the one password you use is leaked in a breach, every account you own is in jeopardy. Think about having the same lock on your car, your front door, back door, garage, and safe deposit box. If you lose your key, someone could easily get into all of those places. The same is true with your online accounts when you use the same password everywhere.

Creating Strong, Unique, and Complex Passwords

So, what constitutes a strong password? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. Length: The longer the password, the stronger it is. Aim for at least 12 characters, but the more, the better.
2. Complexity: Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (!@#$%^&*). The more complex the password, the harder it is to guess or crack.
3. Uniqueness: Avoid using the same password across multiple accounts. If one account is compromised, all your other accounts are at risk. Create a unique password for each account.
4. Avoid Personal Information: Steer clear of using easily guessable information, such as names of people or places you are associated with, date of birth, or other common words found in dictionaries (i.e: BuddyTheCat12 or MainSt!1!2).

Tips for Creating Memorable Passwords

Now that you know the criteria for strong passwords, you might be wondering how to create passwords that are both secure and easy to remember. Here are some tips:

1. Use a passphrase: Instead of a random string of characters, create a passphrase by combining multiple words or a memorable sentence. For example, "Correct!Horse#BatterySt@ple!" or "!Lov32E@tCh0colateCO0kies!"
2. Associate with a memory: Think of a memorable event, place, or phrase and incorporate it into your password using the first letters of each word, combined with numbers and special characters.
3. Use a password manager: If you find it challenging to remember multiple complex passwords, consider using a password manager. These tools securely store and manage all your passwords, requiring you to remember only one master password. Here is a short guide on what password managers are and how to use them.

Staying Safe Online

Creating strong, unique, and complex passwords is just one step in maintaining online security. Remember, your online accounts contain valuable personal and financial information. By taking the time to create and use strong passwords, you can significantly reduce the risk of someone getting access to your accounts and feel confident your accounts are safe.