World Password Day: Create Robust Passwords

In a world where major hacks are a weekly occurrence, BullGuard offers a raft of tips to help create strong passwords that will deter even the most determined hackers and keep all your personal information safe.

LONDON, MAY 02, 2018 – Passwords are critical gatekeepers to our digital identities, allowing us to access online shopping, dating, banking, social media, private work and life communications, and protect our valuable data. In recognition of World Password Day on May 3rd, multi-award winning consumer cybersecurity company, BullGuard, offers some important tips on how to create strong passwords and reminds us why it is so critical to have better password habits.

Beware hackers

Many people use simple passwords, such as; ‘1234567’, ‘qwerty’ and even ‘password.’ However, using simple password cracking programs hackers can crack these passwords very easily. These ‘brute-force’ programs make multiple guesses at high speed until the password is fully cracked. The program may take a few minutes or years; it all depends on the complexity of the password. If the password is simple it can be cracked in seconds.

At the same time many people use the same username and password for all of their accounts. Hackers can run programs that enter stolen username and password details on tens of thousands of sites until one hits. When it does, they have access to any number of your accounts and credentials.

You may practice good security on your home computers but organisations that hold thousands and millions of customer records, including user names and passwords, are consistently hacked, exposing all the information they hold. This data is typically put up for sale in the hacker underground.

Good password practice

Some of the easiest-to-remember passwords aren’t words at all but collections of words that form a phrase or sentence. This could be the opening line of a novel, a poem or even a song, sometimes with some numbers and symbols thrown into the mix.

Complexity is good, length is also critical. It used to be that an alphanumeric password only 8-10 characters in length was ideal. But these days, it’s increasingly easy for hackers to build extremely powerful and fast password cracking tools that can run through tens of millions of possible password combinations in a second. Each character you add to a password makes it an order of magnitude harder for hackers to attack via brute-force methods.

• Don’t use the same password on multiple websites. If a website is sensitive, that is, it stores personal information such as name, address and card numbers, this information can be used to make purchases in your name.

• Don’t use the password you use for your email account at other online sites. If an e-commerce site you are registered with gets hacked, there’s a high chance that your password, once cracked will be tried for other accounts, including your email.

• Do use two factor authentication if available. Most online services now offer this and it works by adding an additional layer of security to your personal accounts. This can help reduce the risk of particularly nasty cyber-crime like identity theft, phishing scams and online fraud.

• In summary you should use passwords that are lengthy and with some numbers and symbols randomly thrown in. It’s important to adopt two factor authentication, and if you use the same username and password on all accounts it can leave you extremely vulnerable.

Extra security

Of course it can be difficult to remember secure passwords if they are created properly. As such password managers are a good option. They automatically create strong passwords for you and securely store them, so for each online account you have you can have a robust password that is easily remembered.

Looking a bit further ahead you might also want to consider BullGuard Premium Protection. Premium Protection scans the entire web for your passwords, usernames, email and postal addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers and any other information you provide. If any of your registered details is made public online (a sign that it has been stolen from somewhere) we immediately alert you via email or text message and provide you with advice on what to do next.

-ENDS-

About BullGuard

BullGuard is a leader in consumer cybersecurity. We make it simple to protect everything in your digital life – from your data, to your identity, to your Smart Home. BullGuard combines technical expertise with a genuine understanding of your needs to deliver complete protections across all your connected devices. As part of our ongoing promise to be champion of today’s digital consumer, we’ve added Dojo by BullGuard to our multi-award winning product portfolio. It’s the best custom-built solution to protect Wi-Fi enabled devices in the home, and gives customers the freedom to add as many Smart Home devices as they want without compromising privacy or security. Dojo by BullGuard is the cornerstone of a Smart Home, ensuring a connected world where every consumer, in every home, is smart, safe and protected.

Follow us on Twitter @BullGuard and @DojoSafe, like us on Facebook at BullGuard and Dojo, or learn more at https://www.bullguard.com or https://dojo.bullguard.com.

Press contact:

Michelle Cross
The PR Room
michelle.cross@theprroom.co.uk