We’re not the first – and we won’t be the last – to emphasize the importance of cyber-safety. And while we can guarantee most of you will agree it’s importance, putting it into practice can be difficult for individuals around the globe.
According to latest reports, nearly 3 out of 4 individuals use duplicate passwords online; many of which have not been changed in five years or more. Unsurprisingly, about 40 percent of those taking part in the survey said they had experience a “security incident” in the past year – involving hacking, having passwords stolen or fraud.
With two out of every five people being hacked, it’s time to do something different i.e. changing your password!
After speaking to our in-house cyber security experts, here are 5 tips for keeping your passwords safe this year:
● Avoid using personal information. It may be tempting to use the name of your pet or child as a password, but what if the hacker is someone a little closer to home? Often, a hacker could be someone who knows you – or has found out information from your Facebook. Therefore, using personal information such as names or dates will be their first guess.
● Don’t use common passwords. Believe it or not, some of the most popular passwords are “123456”, “qwerty” and of course, “password”. Stay well away from these examples – if not you will have hackers leaping at the chance to get in your computer.
● Stay away from any single words or a pair of words. Hackers use software that can test every word in the dictionary for a short amount of time. Don’t think you can fool them with common substitutions such as a “5” for an “S”, hackers and their software are wise to any tricks.
● Try long passwords. American security research organisation, SANS Institute, recommend passwords that are at least 15 characters long. However, a password with 11 or 12 characters is sufficient for individuals looking to protect their important information.
● Change your passwords often. Changing your passwords too regularly can make them difficult to remember but it’s important to change them occasionally. An easy way to keep track of when you changed your passwords last is to update them at the beginning or end of the year – and add this onto your password i.e. GsOgQlLoNqB522018
How We Can Help
At Ghost Services, we can be your IT department, anytime, anywhere. We like to think we are a one-stop shop for all aspects of business-to-business IT. We are able to source and supply computers and IT equipment, install them and maintain your equipment to ensure you are making the most out of it. If you want to more information about our IT support in Essex, get in touch with us on 01708 390370