Password Security: How secure is your password?
Ritu Chopra
Have you ever selected predefined security questions such as:
- What is your mother’s maiden name?
- What is the name of your first pet?
- What was your first car?
- What elementary school did you attend?
- What is the name of the town where you were born?
Well, a lot of the information you may have already shared on your social media pages and profiles. Some personal information can be found in a public records search.
Nowadays, we use passwords to log in to many websites, apps, marketplaces, online banking, and more. Are you using the same generic passwords at all different sites you log in? The risks of cyber-hacking are on the rise. Here are a few tips and do’s and don’ts for creating a secure password.
Do’s:
- Create strong passwords that do not match the birthdates, special occasions, and any easily located pieces of information from your social media pages.
- Create combinations of words that only you will know while creating passwords.
- Change passwords at least every six months as often as you prefer.
Don’ts:
- Do not use the same password for banking apps, marketplaces, and other sites you may log in to.
- Avoid names of family members, pets, or similar to your email IDs used as passwords.
- Don’t share your passwords with others who do not need access to your log-in information.
Look out for any suspicious emails or requests for resetting your passwords unless you initiated the ‘Forgot Password’
Be safe, be happy!
Ritu Chopra
