There's only one way to properly protect your online accounts from hackers. Here's how to do it.
If a hacker guesses the password you use to protect your online accounts, you've opened yourself up to a whole host of problems. They could, for example, access your personal data and use your identity to apply for credit, or carry out online transactions to plunder your bank account.
But there's one easy way to make sure that doesn't happen - choose a stronger password.
A bad password is one which can be easily cracked. That's pretty obvious. But it's not quite so obvious what makes a strong password.
While I was researching this article I realised just how weak the passwords I use really are. And all the time I was secretly thinking they were quite clever!
But at least my passwords aren't quite as bad as the ten most common shown below. You probably won't be surprised to see which one tops the list.
Top 10 most commonly used passwords
|
Password |
Rank |
|
123456 |
1 |
|
12345 |
2 |
|
123456789 |
3 |
|
Password |
4 |
|
iloveyou |
5 |
|
princess |
6 |
|
rockyou |
7 |
|
1234567 |
8 |
|
12345678 |
9 |
|
abc123 |
10 |
Source: Imperva
Any of these passwords fall into the weak category with 'password' probably being the absolute worst. Nearly half of all people who use online accounts use names, slang words or dictionary words as passwords. And, as you can see, the most common password of all - and therefore the easiest to crack - is '123456'.
Other passwords to avoid
As well as the ten most common passwords which are a huge no-no when it comes to protecting your online accounts, there are plenty of other passwords you should avoid too. For example, you should give weak password like names, brand names, holiday destinations, place names or the name of your football team a miss.
You should also steer clear of any dictionary words. A lot of people simply use a dictionary word with a numeric substitution - for example, 'Jup1ter', 'F3bruary' or '3ngland'. But this type of password is surprisingly weak too.
The reason we need to avoid these passwords is because they're really common, and therefore vulnerable to being cracked. Anything which contains words and letters only can easily be guessed. Hackers often use an automated programme to systematically and rapidly check one dictionary word after another until they hit on the right one.
Or they may use what's known as a 'brute force attack' where lots of permutations of the same word are tried out. This is why passwords like 'Jup1ter' or 'F3bruary' aren't particularly safe.
Tops dos and don'ts for choosing perfect passwords
But there are some simple steps you can take to make sure your passwords are as strong as possible. Check out these dos and don'ts:
- Do use a different password for each account otherwise the hacker only needs to guess one password to have access to all your accounts.
- Do change your passwords regularly.
- Do use one or more of the following non-alphanumeric characters somewhere in your password: { } / < > ( ) ^ % " ! ' ? [ ] & *, @ ~ . If you're able to use the space bar in your password do so.
- Don't chose simple sequences such '12345678' or 'ABCDEFGH'.
- Don't choose a password that relates to you such as your date of birth, your address, your partner's name or the name of your pet.
- Don't choose a short password. Go for at least eight characters, but really the longer the better. According to Microsoft, a 15 character password composed only of letters and numbers at random is around 33,000 times stronger than an 8 character password which consists of any characters on your keyboard.
- Don't pick a password that can be found in a dictionary. These can easily be cracked.
- Don't recycle your password. So avoid money1, money2, money3 and so on.
- Don't write your passwords down.
- Don't tell anyone your passwords.
How can I choose and remember my perfect passwords?
Take a look at this advice from Microsoft on coming up with a strong and memorable password:
Think of a sentence you can remember. This will form the basis of your strong password. Use a memorable sentence, such as "My son Aiden is three years old."
Convert it to a password. Take the first letter of each word of the sentence that you've created to come up with a new, nonsensical word. Using the example above, you'd get: "msaityo".
Add complexity. Then mix uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers into word. This might create a password like "MsAi3yo".
Finally, substitute some special characters. You can use symbols that look like letters to help you remember them, and to make the password more complex. You could also try lengthening it a bit too. Using this trick, you might come up with a password using the first letter of each word like this "M$8ni3y0".
Test your new password with Password Checker. Password Checker is a non-recording tool which tells you how strong the new password you've chosen is. If it isn't strong, keep tweaking it until it is.
If you remember one thing it should be this: the best passwords aren't words at all. So combine letters, numbers and punctuation marks to make the perfect password.
For other tips on protecting your accounts, take a look at Online banking: How to stay safe. You can keep a close eye on your accounts, and get an early warning of possible fraudulent activity by registering for online banking at lovemoney.com. You'll also get a host of other benefits which you find out more about in This online banking service will change your life.
Finally, if you have more questions about keeping your online accounts safe from attack, why not ask the lovemoney.com community for help using our fantastic Q&A forum.