According to recent news media accounts, 500 million customer account records, including logon passwords and security questions, have been comprised in the largest single hacking attack to-date. Most people would agree that we don’t need a better excuse to review everyday practices related to passwords in our personal and workday lives.
Recommended practices for more secure passwords include:
- Use passwords that are at least 12 to 15 characters long. The number of characters should be your first priority over other recommendations for secure passwords. So by all means get this recommended practice right.
- Avoid common sports and pop culture terms. It’s best to use a password that no one else would probably think of, so keeping it really unique (weird) is best.
- Add special characters, including digits, symbols and capital letters, throughout the middle of the password. Don’t just add one special charter at the beginning or end of the password.
- Use unique passwords for each of your accounts. Now don’t gasp so loud! The weakest link in all of your the passwords can comprise your efforts to keep your "important" accounts secure.
Because it’s also important to not write your passwords down, it is recommended that you use a password manager. And by all means, don’t lose track of the password(s) to logon on to your password manager.