Tips and Tricks to secure your password

Creating a strong password is key, and whilst these tips may seem obvious, even the likes of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg can fall victim to a hack due to weak password choices.

 Here are some tips and tricks to strengthen your passwords.

 Use multiple passwords: With so many passwords to remember, a common mistake is to use the password for several accounts. However, if a hacker cracks the password they will gain instant access to all accounts, which is dangerous for accounts linked to personal and financial details.

Password manager: A password manager offers users to store all their passwords in an encrypted vault, with the only requirement to remember only one to access it.

Mix up your passwords: This is something Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg failed to do. The CEO was guilty of re-using ‘dadada’ for multiple sites. The ideal password should be at least 8 characters in length, using upper and lower case characters and symbols, making the password harder for hackers to crack

Avoid common passwords: In 2015, the most commonly used password was ‘123456’ with ‘password’ coming in second. Using personal references as passwords, such as names, anniversary and birthday dates, or place of birth, are not strong and are what hackers will try first.

Multi-factor authentication: Services are now introducing multi-factor authentication, meaning if a user logs from unknown location or forgets their password, a code will be sent via a text message. Also, many phones now features fingerprint biometrics, as well as a code. It is better practice to set both in place.