How to choose a secure password

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The Internet is more and more included in everyday life, and at the same time, it is increasingly necessary to protect your data. Mail, social networks, online shopping - everywhere you need a password, and preferably a secure one.

Let's look at some examples of what a good password should be.

First of all, it is necessary to discard the simplest options that are still popular. If you have chosen qwerty, 12345, or some other simple and obvious sequence of letters or numbers as your password, it will not be difficult for attackers to crack it. But if you combine several letters and numerical values, then the password will become more resistant to guessing.

If you combine several letters and numerical values, then the password will become more resistant to guessing.

Also popular are passwords consisting of one word (Russian or English). Unfortunately, they are very easily calculated by cybercriminals using special programs that enumerate all possible variants from dictionary databases (this method of selection is called brute force). Some services protect their users from such actions - for example, Mail. Ru has developed an anti-brute force system for this, which filters out attempts to automatically log into the mailbox. However, for the sake of security, it is better not to risk it and come up with a more complex password.

Do not use personal information as a password: name, surname, date of birth, information about relatives, phone numbers. If someone specifically targeted your mail, then you can find out details about you from the same social networks or through friends.

A good password option is a phrase. Such a phrase should not be well-known or catchphrase. It is better if it is unique or absurd, for example, "tow truck". This option will protect you and is easy enough to remember.

There is a practice of writing a password in Latin letters, but looking at the Russian alphabet. Not a bad reception, great for beginners, but the disadvantage is the difficulty of entering from mobile devices or from the keyboard without Cyrillic on the keys.

The closer the password is to a random sequence, the more difficult it will be for attackers to guess it.

The most secure password must be at least 8 characters long, contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and additional characters available on the keyboard: /? ! {}. But don't get carried away with replacing characters in simple words; the password option [email protected] $$ w0rd is also quite simple and familiar. The closer the password is to a random sequence, the more difficult it will be for attackers to guess it. A good example is X29jk! O {.

Handle your passwords carefully. Do not share them with anyone, do not write them down in a conspicuous place. Also, do not store passwords on the Internet or even in a separate file on your computer. Try to periodically change passwords on your services, as well as in cases when one of your passwords has been hacked, as there is a high probability that attackers can gain access to others. And, most importantly, do not use the same password everywhere - this puts all the accounts you use at the same time at risk.