Password protection is one of the major Orlando Network Security concerns to be aware of in 2013. 2012 was full of reports that passwords had been obtained from several large companies. LinkedIn, Zappos.com and eHarmony, for example, all faced the wrath of such attacks.
There are cybercrime laws that will punish a hacker when they are caught, but these laws do not stop hackers from doing what they do, nor will it. Although, hackers will continue to find ways to get the information they are looking for, there are some steps that can be taken to better ensure the safety of your data.
It is a known fact that password protection is a Network Security technology that is facing the end of its lifespan. Alternative authentication methods need to be implemented but this transition is not easy. There lies that reason why we are still using a technology that is leaving our systems vulnerable to attackers.
• Our first tip is to stay away from the widely used passwords. These include: “password”, “123456”, “qwerty” and “111111”.
• The most important password you want to make sure is protected is your email. If someone has access to your email they are likely to be able to use it to reset passwords to your other accounts.
• You want your password to be something random and meaningless, but also something you can remember.
• Do not use the same password for multiple accounts.
• Change your passwords frequently and do not reuse them for at least 6 months.
• Stay away from using anything that can be connected to you. Examples of things not to use: birth date, your name, a nickname, names of your kids or other family members, pets names, any part of your log in, or any solid word in the English language. There is software that can detect these things.
• Do not save your passwords to any device. Keep them in memory and never give them out to anyone else. There are forms of security software that will safely remember your passwords and apply them to your accounts when you log in.
• An easy way to come up with unique passwords for your accounts is to come up with a phrase, use the first letter of each word in the phrase and put it together. If you can replace any of the letters with numbers, do so. (The word “to” can be turned into “2”). You can then use this for multiple accounts by adding the first and last letters of the name of the site to the beginning and end of the sequence.
o Here is an example: The phrase I’m going to choose is “to grandmother’s house we go”. This turns into 2ghwg. Say the password is for my Google account. I then add “g” and “e” to the beginning and the end, making g2ghwge. You can use the same core for a few sites and change the end characters.
Hackers most often go after email accounts or any type of account that they can use to take money from you. Social Media accounts are being targeted more often in order for the attacker to send links to phishing sites or scams to your friends. You’re more likely to click on something if it is coming from someone you know and trust.
In closing, if you are someone who has been using the same passwords for your accounts since you started using the internet; it’s time to change them. Call NetComplete today for all of your Orlando Network Security needs.