7 Best Practices to Ensure Password Safety

Although Google, Microsoft, Apple, social networks, and basically every platform that you use on an everyday basis, insist on password safety, not many people really take it as an important matter. If you’d pay attention the next time you’re scrolling through your Newsfeed on Facebook for example, chances are you will encounter at least one article that’s about stolen identities. This should show you how common this type of crime is nowadays, and how easier it is for criminals to access your data because of the internet.

Have you ever wondered how long would it take for someone to crack your password? Different factors affect that time frame, and as a matter of fact, the plausibility as well. So, go through the following password security tips in order to find out how to protect yourself by learning about the best practices that will ensure your safety.

Password Security Tips Are Quite Useful

You’d be surprised with how much difference you can make just by giving your passwords a thought. Most people use their favorite items, important dates, words they often use, or something they find funny. Well, a mischievous person who wants to get to your private information would just need to scroll through your social media platforms and they would find out everything they need quite quickly.

You should also stay away from commonly misspelled words as well as combinations like “asdfgh” – anyone with a bit of skill when it comes to password cracking will have that in mind. The same goes for jargons and words and phrases which are trending – considering the fact that everyone uses it, the chances of them ending up in someone’s password are very good.

So, by just giving it a thought and staying away from the most commonly used combinations, you did half the work.

Security Questions Are as Important

The easiest thing for someone who wants to intrude your privacy is to click on the “I forgot my password button”. The following process to retrieve your password – which is something you’re probably familiar with – is about answering security questions.

These questions are as important as the password itself when it comes to password safety. So, make sure that you go further from using your mother’s elementary school (which is also a piece of information that’s quite simple to get to). In order to achieve a high level of password security, you should use something which isn’t as obvious. The best thing would be to come up with your own if that possibility is offered and steer clear from generic ones. LogMeOnce allows users to create their own security questions and answer.

Be Creative with Your Passwords

As we mentioned, if you stay away from the most commonly used combination, you did half the work. However, you should still come up with a powerful password. Basically, you should come up with a combination that you don’t have any attachments to, so it’s impossible to crack by someone who paid a visit to your profiles on social networks.

Also, you shouldn’t hesitate from using symbols if that’s an option. The same goes for numbers and random caps – if you incorporate all of this, your password safety will be ensured.

Don’t Use Just One Password

Furthermore, you should be aware of the fact how dangerous it is to use only one password, or its variations, for all your accounts and profiles. A criminal who manages to crack your password on one of them will have access to everything you have online. So, make sure you use different ones for each of the accounts.

Keep Your Passwords a Secret

Many people don’t understand the danger of blurting their passwords to their friends and members of their family. Well, probably the most repeated situation that you must have heard about is having someone intrude your privacy.

It’s not that your close friends and family members will intentionally misuse your passwords – they might share it with someone by accident. That is why you should be highly secretive when it comes to your passwords and keep them to yourself.

Memorize It, Don’t Write It Down

The obvious thing to do when you come up with a strong password that matches all the criteria we mentioned so far is to write it down on a piece of paper. Although this sounds harmless and practical, the chances of that this post-it containing your password getting lost and even stolen do exist. You should be smart about this and memorize your passwords instead of writing them down.

How Long Does It Take to Crack Your Password?

For further protection, you should ask yourself this question – are your passwords easy to crack even though you think you created a strong one? Well, you can always ask one of your friends to try and crack it, but you should have in mind that a criminal is probably more skillful than they are in this process.

So, the logical thing is to ask a pro to do it – the Mugshot team has a lot of experience in this area and you can ask them to try and go through your security measurements. You should also know that they are all about passwords safety – Mugshot offers a list of services including snapping a photo or making a video of someone who tried to misuse your information, as well as providing you with their location.

With the password security tips listed above, you are set to go. The process of coming up with a strong password should become part of your routine – make sure to use different combinations and that they are all as strong. And don’t forget about security questions, because they are very important.