I know your password!

Published on April 14, 2020 | Laurance A. (Larry) Selnick

Truth be told, I do not. However, it appears I, and many others, could guess! In previous blogs, I have talked about the importance of protecting your PC from cyber theft and the potential threats of malicious software that steals your password and other critical information to login to financial services sites. But sometimes, technology is not the issue!

Common passwords

According to Forbes magazine, in December of 2019, a security researcher discovered a treasure trove of more that a billion plain-text passwords in an unsecured online database! The top three passwords? “12345” “123456” and “123456789.” Some of the other top ten passwords are the same ones we’ve all been urged not to use since online living became the norm. This use of very simple passwords make it very easy for hackers to figure out.

Create strong passwords

Passwords are part of a layered security system. Take a few moments to consider a password unique to you and your ability to remember it. A quick search online can provide multiple resources on how to build a better password. There’s no perfect system that can prevent unauthorized access 100% of the time. You need to be vigilant about protecting your password from those that steal them online or guess it by researching you. To see if your password is secure, run it through this test. Now, let’s talk about challenge questions that can protect your password.

Challenge questions

Many of the challenge questions offered as part of password security ask you for your favorite color, the name of your high school, your hometown, favorite food, etc. However, many of us post this personal information on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media. Be careful about what you post, and only use challenge questions that are not easily figured out via an online search of your social media profile. Do you have any tips you can share about making sure no one can steal your password?