Password Safety – Keswick Computer Solutions
Password Safety – Keswick Computer Services
The online world can be as tricky to navigate than the real world but Keswick Computer Solutions have some great advice to keep you safe out there.
Passwords are at the front and centre of all security discussions these days, which means that your biggest security risk could well be yourself.
Password reuse is a problem and remembering different passwords, for social media, banking, travel, hotel booking, supermarket delivery and online shopping can lead to people using the same password for everything.
Why is that a bad idea?
Say you have a super-secure password like 258#Shake#Extend#Customary#. It’s complex, secure and you remember it. You use it for Facebook and email account. One day, you’re sorting out personal finances and set up an Equifax account to check your credit rating with the same password.
In September 2017, Equifax suffered a breach which compromised the email addresses and passwords of 147 million people. The data quickly made its way into the hands of so-called ‘threat actors’ who just scanned their list of email addresses and passwords. They see yours, try your email address and password in Gmail. They’re in.
They try the same email and password on Facebook. Success! A few direct messages to your friends and now they have viruses on their computers which are gathering more data.
They try Amazon, but you used a different password for that account. Not to worry, one click on the ‘forgotten password’ link your password is reset by sending a notification to your Gmail. They buy a new TV.
It gets worse when they read your emails from [email protected] and see you’re booking a wedding. They create a new account at [email protected], start corresponding as if they were the venue and offer a generous discount with a £1000 down payment, which you pay.
Password Security Checklist
There are things you can do to secure yourself. Passwords and login details are compromised all the time, check your email account at www.haveibeenpwned.com
Choose strong, unique passwords. Generators such as www.correcthorsebatterystaple.net can help.
Keep track of your passwords with a password manager, www.lastpass.com or keepass.info are a good place to start.
Don’t reuse passwords.
