

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Mark Smirniotis. If you’ve been reusing the same handful of passwords over the years, you should change your platform-specific passwords (such as those for Google, Apple, Facebook, or Microsoft) as well as your email, social media, and bank account logins right away. Each time you log in to a site, especially a site where you’ve been reusing a password, spend an extra minute to change your login credentials. (You can always use a password generator without a password manager account.)Īfter choosing a password manager, spend the next few weeks changing all your passwords as you browse the web. Keep it safe-never carry it with you out of the house-and use a different password everywhere. Many developers of password managers submit their software to third parties for security assessments, which helps ensure that the companies are honest about their security and privacy claims.īut if you have only a handful of online accounts, if you’re not worried about anyone in your house logging in to your personal accounts, or if you don’t travel much, there’s nothing wrong with a pen-and-paper list. We think the usability is worth the trade-off, and most password managers-including the ones we recommend-do everything they can to make a data breach improbable. Using a password manager requires some level of trust, and it’s theoretically possible that a password manager could suffer some sort of data breach. You can then access that password through the password manager software on all your devices, including your other computers, your tablet, or your phone. When you visit a site to create or change a password, the password manager suggests a password (usually something like JKk8&*jasdl4+&) and then stores it so you don’t have to remember it. A password manager does two things: It creates, and then stores, unique passwords. Most people find that a password manager offers the best way to do that. The solution to this problem is to use a different, hard-to-guess password for every account. If Target suffers a data breach that includes your password, your Gmail account password is also compromised in turn. Let’s say, for example, that you’re using the same password for Target’s website and for Gmail. Reusing passwords across different services increases the likelihood of malicious actors gaining access to your other accounts. For more information, see our complete Simple Online Security series. Try to periodically update and use different passwords on all sites and forums.This is just one step in a series created to help anyone improve their online security regardless of their technical knowledge. Of course, such a password is the easiest to type and does not need to be remembered, but it is also elementary to crack it. Avoid passwords that match your username. Refuse a password that includes fully written any language, catchphrases, famous quotes. When composing a password, exclude data containing information about you and your family (names, surnames, memorable dates, phone numbers). Individual samples of specialized commercial software claim a capacity of 2.8 billion passwords per second. John the Ripper is a free and open source program that checks millions of passwords per second. Even so, the performance of modern hacking software must be reckoned with. Let's say you fall into those 99% of users whose password is not so simple. After such a pass, on average, 1% of all passwords are guessed. You are trying the four most common combinations in the world: password, 123456, 12345678, qwerty. About 1% of all currently existing passwords can be cracked in four attempts. Make sure the generator you choose does not. Generators should be transparent in what they offer too. It also ensures that your passwords are safe to use on a range of different sites.

This means that the generator itself can’t be hacked either. Most attackers don't bother with sophisticated methods to steal passwords. Following on from that, a strong password generator should also have secure technology in place. Each time you have to think about what password to put so that they cannot crack it. Passwords – they are needed everywhere on the Internet. The best ways to create passwords that no one can hack
