Common Password Mistakes You Could Be Making

computer password mistakes

Streaming subscription services, bank accounts, gaming services, and even the devices you access these accounts on typically offer password authentication. Some people forego passwords altogether, but even those of us who use them likely make some common mistakes that might be putting our devices and our data at risk. Avoiding these mistakes can help protect our privacy.

Difficulty Creating Unique Passwords

With streaming subscription services and a proliferation of digital devices that require passwords, it can be difficult to come up with unique passwords for every single account. Password generators randomly assign characters and create strong passwords in seconds according to settings like password length and the types of characters to be used.

In addition to creating unique passwords, it’s also important to ensure that the sites that you’re using are safe and provide you with full anonymity. When shopping online, using an online payment system like PayPal helps secure your financial information. Alternatively, using a gambling site, like one of the ones listed here, helps keep your private information safe. These sites are regulated by trustworthy regulators and employ robust encryption measures to keep customer information secure. 

Making Them Too Simple

Although they can be more difficult to remember, passwords should be long and complex. Even people who are closest to you shouldn’t be able to guess or get close to guessing your passwords, which means they shouldn’t be related to you, your family, or your job. An ideal password is a long and nonsensical string of unrelated characters.  

Using Too Few Characters

A lot of sites and accounts demand that passwords be a minimum of 12 characters. Some even demand a 16-character password. Even if an account doesn’t have a minimum character requirement, you should aim for at least 12 characters and ideally more than this.

Not Using Special Characters

Special characters include symbols like !, “, £, and $. As well as using uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers, you should use special characters. However, you shouldn’t use them to replace letters in words. P4ssw0rd is still not a secure password, and software designed to brute hack a password will use the same techniques to guess your password as you used to create it.

Using Common Passwords

Alarmingly, the most commonly used passwords are:

  • 123456
  • 123456789
  • 12345678
  • password
  • qwerty123

Simple passwords like these take seconds to guess, and thieves won’t need to use any software to get into your accounts. Even seemingly more complex q1w2e3r4t5y6 can be hacked in under a second using common password-hacking software.

Including Personal Information

Using personal information, like your favorite movie star’s name, might make it easier to remember passwords, but it also makes them easier to hack. Software uses dictionaries as well as lists of names, places, and other commonly used words and strings. Even dates are easy to bypass. Any information that is public knowledge, or that you might have shared on social media or in conversation, can pose a security risk.

Recycling Passwords

Most of us have dozens of accounts and secure devices. It might seem logical to use a single, complex password for every login, but this isn’t secure. Accounts like bank accounts and digital wallets use highly secure encryption and data protection techniques, but this isn’t necessarily true of all your online accounts. If a thief gets the password from your online chat account, they will try the same password on your other accounts, rendering your bank’s encryption useless. You should use a separate password for every account.

Never Changing Passwords

Changing passwords frequently protects you in several ways. If somebody has gained access to an account, even if you’re unaware, changing your password will prevent them from continuing to access your account. Regularly updating passwords also encourages you to use different passwords for different accounts, and it can help prevent others from being able to use passwords saved on old devices. It’s good practice to change passwords at least every three months. If any of your accounts have been compromised or your system is infected with malware, you should change all your passwords immediately.

Changing One Character

When changing passwords, a lot of people just change the last digit and they change it sequentially. If somebody has got hold of your password or has found an old password, it won’t take long to change the last digit and gain access to your accounts.

Using Strings

Ideally, you should avoid using strings of letters or numbers anywhere in your password. Even if 1234 is found in the middle of the password, it makes it easier to guess the full password, and it will reduce the time it takes for hacking software to gain access to your account.

Sharing Passwords Or Details Of Them

You should never share passwords with anybody, whether intentionally or not. This means you should log out of accounts or anything that requires password authentication on shared devices. And remember that nobody from your bank or any legitimate company will ask for your account login details.

Storing Passwords Insecurely

Having and using a dozen or more randomly created passwords makes it very difficult to remember everything. Browsers and explorers offer password management solutions, but these aren’t necessarily the most secure solutions. Secure, audited password managers are more secure, and you should always avoid writing passwords down and carrying them with you.  

Using Simple Security Questions

When signing up for some accounts, users are asked to choose and provide answers to security questions. These can be used to reset lost or forgotten passwords. Accounts typically give a list of security questions to choose from, but users need to ensure that they do not use readily known answers or information that can easily be gleaned from social media or other public profiles.