Passwords are a very broad form of authentication in online accounts, but creating passwords that are safe and easy to remember is no simple task. In addition, this task is complicated as users use more and more accounts online.
If we create simple passwords, which we easily remember, the risk of a hacker deciphering them becomes much greater. However, if we create a more complex password, it is very likely that we will forget about it and that, in order to prevent it from happening again, we will start reusing it in many more sites.
Kaspersky Lab researchers have found that the greatest weakness of passwords is their reuse. As we can see from the recent news release of the theft of over 700 million unencrypted emails and passwords, the information gained from the various flaws can be easily combined and used in other “credential-filling” attacks, where hackers take advantage of email combinations or victims’ passwords to access other accounts with the same word.
The risk does not decrease as we change passwords. The solution is to create stronger words. Still, its ‘strength’ must be built from its uniqueness and not complexity.
David Jacoby, a security researcher with Kaspersky Lab’s Analysis and Research (GReAT) team, says: “There is still a lot of confusion about what is meant by” secure password. ” Many websites now require complex passwords, which have eight or more uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. This is what many users regard as “secure password,” which is quite discouraging. “
Jacoby adds: “The good news is that ‘strong’ does not have to mean fear. When we look at the problem from a security perspective, we can see that passwords are generally safe if they are unique and used only in a single account. There are simple ways to make them unique but easy to remember so that we do not need to use them in other accounts, even if the details of the account are exposed in a data failure. In addition, secure password management tools such as Kaspersky Password Manager are available that make it easy to create and use dozens of unique passwords. “
To create secure, unique, and easy-to-remember passwords, Kaspersky Lab recommends:
Step one: Create a “static join” (the part of the password that never changes)
- Think of a phrase, lyrics, quotes from a movie, a childhood song or something that is easy to memorize for ourselves.
- Pick up the first letter of the first three or five words.
- Between each letter, add a special character: @ / # etc.
From now on, you can create unique passwords thanks to this combination.
Step two: Improve them through the strength of association
- When we think of the online accounts for which we need to have a password (Facebook, Twitter, contact or game sites, etc.), we must note each of the first words that we associate with each network.
- For example, when we create a password for Facebook, we can associate this network with the blue color of the logo; or we can simply add the word “blue,” perhaps in upper case, at the end of the static combination.
David Jacoby explains: “For example, if the phrase we think is ‘I have a doll dressed in blue’ and the special character we want to use is #, our password to Facebook could be T # U # B # V # D # Blue. It does not make sense when we see it, but since it is something personal and has to do with us, we know the system to manage the passwords and associate it with the site. That makes it easy to remember. “
The best way to back up, remember and securely complete passwords are through a management tool such as Kaspersky Password Manager. This is a secure password protection solution that allows you to create them securely and uniquely for all online accounts. We just need to remember a ‘master’ password to access them. Password management solutions, including Kaspersky Password Manager, offer strong encryption capabilities, with a minimal possibility that a third party can access our data.
If you need help, have doubts or concerns, do not hesitate to leave a comment in the comment box below and we will try to help you as soon as possible!