The security of your online life, your bank account, Netflix account, email inbox all depend on the short combination of letters, numbers and symbols you enter into that little box, make sure it is strong.
Your passwords are the key to your online life. If someone gets access to them, they can wreak havoc on your finances, social media accounts, and more. So it’s important to make sure that your passwords are strong and secure. In this blog post, we will discuss Password Security Guidelines. We will go over how to create strong passwords and how to keep your passwords safe and secure.
Password Rules
When generating a password, it is critical to ensure that it is secure. To ensure the strength of your password, you should follow the following rules:
- Use a password manager to create your password – this will solve all the rules below.
- Do not store copies of your passwords on your computer or on the cloud – most password managers fail in these areas, writing them down physically is also not advised.
- Use completely random combinations of alphanumeric characters and symbols.
- Your password should be no less 10 characters, ideally 16 or even 20 characters long.
- Never use the same password twice on any account or file.
- Do not use the same characters in repetition, patterns on a keyboard, words from a dictionary, names, places, any letter or number sequences.
- Never use information that can be associated with you or the account. This includes usernames, ancestor’s names or dates.
- If you created the password then it is most likely not strong enough, especially if you can remember it.
Most Commonly Used Passwords
If you can see your password in the list then you have most likely already been hacked and just don’t know it yet. This is just a tiny segement of the list hackers use to crack passwords, the lists can be found online and used by bots to try every combination until one works. That user is then targeted and the bot will try the same combination on other sites, often achieving success.
Reusing any password on more than one site is a bad idea but using a password that resembles one of these is just asking for trouble. The amount of time it takes to hack one of these passwords is around 1 second. They will also often be among the first passwords tried by hackers, there are lists containing thousands upon thousands of popular passwords and bots just repeatedly try them until they succeed.
Password Problems
The number one threat and vulnerability to online accounts and encrypted data is the reuse of passwords. It is a common but dangerous practise, not just for WordPress logins but for all logins and places that require a password. Even if your weak password is broken for a single site, if it is used elsewhere it is a disaster!
By using a password twice it is no longer a password
but a universal key to unlock your online life.
How to Check if Your Password has Been Stolen
You can check if your password has me stolen or compromised by using tools such as Mozilla’s Firefox Monitor, Google’s Password Checkup or the website Have I been Pwned. These websites will tell you if any of your passwords have been found in a data breach and what information was exposed.
There are security breaches nearly every day and sometimes multiple times per day, this happens to websites big and small. The data stolen varies from breach to breach but is often names, addresses, passwords, emails and security questions. This information is then sold on the dark web and used by other people to gain access to accounts, gather information and steal online identities, empty bank accounts, commit fraud, etc.
If you have ever used the same password on multiple websites, then your password is at risk. If any of those websites’ databases are breached, then all of your accounts using that password are now compromised. This is why it’s important to use different passwords for different websites. Password managers can help with this by auto-filling your passwords and keeping them secure.
If you find out that your password has been compromised, you should change it immediately and enable two-factor authentication if it’s available. You should also consider changing your passwords on other accounts that use the same or similar passwords.
Password Solutions
There are several effective things you can do to help ensure the security of your passwords and online security.
Password managers
A password manager is software that helps you create and store strong passwords. Password managers can also help you generate strong passwords and keep track of them. Password managers are a great solution for people who have trouble creating strong passwords or keeping track of multiple passwords. There are many different password managers available, such as Bitwarden, LastPass, Dashlane, and KeePass.
Two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that requires you to enter a code from your phone or email in addition to your password when logging into an account. This extra layer of security helps to protect you from hackers who may have stolen your password.
There are several ways to set up two-factor authentication. You can use a code generator app, such as Google Authenticator, or you can receive codes via text or email. If you choose to receive codes via text or email, make sure that your phone number or email address is secure and not easily accessible by hackers.
Regularly changing passwords
One of the best ways to keep your passwords safe and secure is to change them regularly. Password managers can help you with this, but you should also change your passwords on a regular basis even if you are not using a password manager.
Changing your passwords regularly helps to keep them fresh and secure. It also helps to ensure that if one of your passwords is compromised, the others will remain safe.
The Future of Password Security
Passwords by themselves are not strong enough, once broken, whether they are unique or not still allow access directly into your account. Using two Factor Authentification (Link Coming Soon) is an excellent way to make it a lot more complicated and block access. Two Factor Authentification is a whole other level and a great addition that should be used on every site and account. Using your phone as a two-factor authentication device is not the best idea as it can be spoofed and text messages redirected, it is better to use something such as Google Authenticator. This generates a random code that needs to be entered within the time limit and refreshes once every 30 seconds unless you have the Google Authenticator in your possession you cannot gain entry or trick it.
WordPress Password Solutions
When it comes to password security, WordPress is no different than any other platform. You need to use strong passwords to keep your site safe and secure. And if you’re not sure how to create strong passwords, or if you want to make sure your passwords are as safe and secure as possible, then you should consider using a password security plugin. Most websites give the option of using two-factor authentication as standard and you can even use it with your WordPress site using a security plugin such as iThemes.
One of the best password security plugins available is iThemes Security. This plugin provides a variety of features that will help you keep your passwords safe and secure. For example, the plugin can help you set a lock screen so unauthorized users can’t access your site. It also provides a Password Strength Meter, which will help you create strong passwords for your site.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden is a Password Manager that can help keep your passwords safe and secure. The best part is that it’s free to use and it provides a variety of features that will help you keep your passwords organized and accessible.
They also offer browser extensions which is a great way to keep your passwords safe and secure. With the extension, you can access your passwords from any device, so you can always have them with you. The extension also includes a Password Generator, which can help you create strong passwords for your site.
Conclusion
Password security is a very important topic because the way we store and use passwords will continue to change. Password security has been an issue for many years now, but with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of technology, it’s becoming easier for hackers to guess passwords. Password hacking is a huge problem that needs to be addressed immediately before it’s too late! It’s time we start taking password security seriously so our online lives are protected from cybercriminals.
