Computer Repair in Kalamazoo

About a year ago, we discussed the merits of creating a secure password.  A lot has changed in technology over the past 12 or so months, especially in the mobile arena with the proliferation of tablets and smartphones becoming more and more functional.  They are able to emulate many functions that were previously the venue of laptops or netbooks.  What this means is that now there is even more need for unique, secure passwords than ever!

First, lets define what a “secure” password should consist of:

• It needs to contain special characters such as @#$%^&

• It must be at least 8 characters long.

• It must not have any common words such as 123, password, your birth date, your login name and any words that can be found in the dictionary or weak/common password lists

• A variation of capitalization, small letters AND numbers

• Again, each password should be unique for EACH and every account

Another popular method for creating a secure password is to make it a nonsensical phrase that spells something you can remember, i.e. Dogs Are Varied In Dimension which spells out D-A-V-I-D.  There is a school of thought among Internet security professionals that a phrase is much more secure than just a string of nonsensical alphanumeric characters.

“ a gibberish password, like J4fS<2, will take about 219 years to crack using a brute-force attack (the fastest method). That’s secure for life, but it’s not terribly easy to remember. On the other hand, a phrase like “this is fun” would take about 2,537 years to crack using a brute-force attack. It’s not only more secure, but also easier to remember.”

This is basically because spaces are special characters just like !#@% or &.  Using uncommon words in your phrase makes it even more secure.  Also, the longer the password or phrase, the harder it will be to “crack”.

The best security is due dilligence.  Follow the 3 simple common sense rules of passwords –

1.  NEVER give out your passwords!

2.  Use both upper and lower case, numbers, and special characters.

3.  NEVER EVER write your passwords down anywhere!

Follow these rules and suggestions and you can rest assured that your accounts are protected as secure as they can be via password.

Geek Easy Computers wants your technology security to be easier!  Call or visit us with any questions about password creation or Internet security and we will be happy to help you out.