Passwords are the most primary line of defense against many internet shenanigans, but only a handful people deem it that way. No matter if you are using the simplest of passwords or repeating them on all your accounts, everyone commits many password sins. Yes, they may be an imperfect security solution to work with, putting your best foot forward will give an immediate security boost. We have listed some essential tips to pay heed to when setting a super strong backdoor password.
- Use a password manager
Always use reputable password managers. It helps in creating unique passwords for every account you have. In other words, if one of your passwords gets caught in a data breach, then the criminals will not have access to the keys to the remaining online services that you are active on. The best ones tend to sync on all digital devices and have autocomplete features. Now, instead of memorizing so many passwords, you just have to remember a master key.
- Elongate them
No matter how many prompts you get for unique characters and uppercase letters, length of the matter is much more worth than its complexity. Once you have reached the 12 to 15 character range, it takes a robust forces and much less guess for your password. Just a warning, never string together any easy to remember references or simple patters. Mix it up.
- Keep them segregated
If you are using the special characters, you will be forced to use a lot of input fields. And while on it, never try bunch all of them together in the beginning or end. You don’t want to do this, as this is what the hackers are looking out for. Rather, give the fields some space in the entire password to make the guessing a tad bit tricky.
- Never change a thing
Your IT manager may notify you to change your password in every 3 months, don’t do that. The more often you change the password, the more you will forget it. It is just like changing a digit in the end each time, which renders it easy to crack.
- Single-serve only
If you use a password manager, you may already be aware of this. But, if you don’t, know that never reuse your passwords across different accounts. If you do, you will have no control over the breach if that ever happens and it could also end up compromising your banking password as well.