Imagine you had a single key for every lock you use. You could lock and unlock your house and gym locker and start your car all with a single key.
Now imagine that key is stolen and your whole life is available to a stranger.
Reusing passwords is a dangerous habit a lot of people still have. It’s high time we change that since it brings nothing but trouble!
Having A Master Password Is Far From Good
The reason behind this is simple – once the master password gets compromised, your other accounts are put at risk as well. If that happens and your passwords get into the wrong hands, you’ll be lucky to recover even a portion of your accounts.
Your password can get compromised via a massive data breach. If this happens while you have the single same password for everything, then chances are your other accounts are going down as well.
Dictionary Attacks Are a Thing
Another reason to reevaluate your password game is dictionary-based password decoding, aka dictionary attacks. With this type of attack, a hacker will try to guess your password by using actual words (from the dictionary).
That’s why you should avoid using real words in your passwords. The best passwords are the ones that are the most random, like this one: fA38!TP?A}.
Your Business Accounts Will Be At Risk As Well
Imagine your password gets cracked and the hacker has control over your email account. Is your email connected to your business account? Is it connected to your professional social media profile or your LinkedIn? You see where this is going.
It is strongly advised to change passwords often, especially for business accounts. You don’t want sensitive info getting out. Some hackers even crack passwords with the intention of breaching business accounts simply because of their higher value.
So, What Can You Do About It?
The very first thing you can do is change your main email password right now! Use a complex combination of symbols, numbers, and letters. Once that’s taken care of, set up a 2-Factor Authenticator (biometrics are great if you have access to them).
Now that your main email is secured, try to implement these into your password regimen:
- Change passwords every once in a while.
- Watch out for phishing. Any email that asks you for your password is suspicious!.
- Never give your password to anyone. Even if Mark Zuckerberg himself asks you for your Facebook password, you say “no”.
All of this can sound a bit cumbersome, but cybersecurity is no joke. If you find password hygiene difficult, you can resort to a password manager. It’s an app that helps you create and maintain your passwords without the remembering part.
Protect Your Digital Privacy – Make Better Passwords
It’s ok to make mistakes. After all, no one taught us in school about password hygiene, right? As long as you use strong and unique passwords and change them every once in a while, you should be good.
Just remember to diversify your passwords game and never use the same password twice.