Recently I got a puppy for my child. We decided to name the puppy 4wgu23x5#9. My wife,8yysH3m, thought we should name the dog 0x2%#b5. But I’m sure she’ll get over it. Meanwhile, I’m helping my older child with setting up a few social media accounts, and I suggested the two passwords: Rover and Spot.
Is there something wrong with this picture?
Of course! But this picture replays itself millions of times over all the time, as people name their passwords after their pets, family members or favorite sports teams. Don’t do online what you wouldn’t do in real life.
When creating passwords remember that you should avoid using things that are personal to you and that could be easy for a hacker to find out about you. Things like your pet’s name, maiden name, birthday, name of your high school and child’s name can be easily found on social networks, making it even easier for hackers to crack your passwords.
Here are some other great tips to make sure that your passwords are strong and protected:
- Make sure your passwords are at least eight characters long and include numbers, letters and characters that don’t spell anything.
- Use different passwords for separate accounts, especially for banking and other high-value websites.
- Change your passwords frequently.
Robert Siciliano is an Online Safety Expert to Intel Security. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!