In today's digital landscape, your passwords are the first line of defense protecting your personal information, financial assets, and online identity. Weak or compromised passwords can lead to devastating consequences, including identity theft, financial loss, and unauthorized access to your most sensitive accounts.
PasswordsYour sign-on details are the digital keys to all your personal information and the best way to keep your money safe. You want to make sure to keep your passwords safe from third-parties so that you and your assets stay protected. The two significant security risks are insecure password practices and shared accounts. This involves using the same password for personal and business apps, reusing passwords across multiple apps, sharing passwords with other people, and storing passwords insecurely. A good password must be at least 10 characters and contain:
Usually, it is difficult to create and remember a strong password based on the rules above. Therefore, we cover simple ideas to simplify your passwords, lock down your accounts, and protect your accounts.
Idea 1: Choose 4 random wordsOne of the most simple and reliable password choices is to just throw 3 or 4 random words together. As long as it's at least 12 characters in length and the words don’t have a natural flow to them (i.e. "WeAreTheChampions"), then this should make for a very strong password. Some examples of good passwords to use - and how they can be remembered - include:
LionStrawberryMansionPines
ColdVodkaBearsBalalaika
HotBeachSunTrip
Idea 2: Use entire phrasesIf it is difficult to remember a random sequence of words, you can try to make phrases. Since the words in a phrase flow together it can be quite long, but phrases, as long as they're not an obvious or common one, can make extremely good passwords. You don’t even need to use numbers or symbols either - the single best way to make a password strong is simply to make it longer, which a phrase naturally is. Examples:
Idea 3: Create a passphrase acronymInstead of typing out a full phrase, you can turn it into an acronym. For example, if you choose the phrase "Coins.ph was founded in 2014 in the Philippines", then by taking the first letter of each word ("C.phwfi2014ithP") you’ll end up with a password that's both strong and easy to remember. Here are some other ideas:
From: I own a VolksWagen, with a 777 plate
From: Passwords! They don't have to be difficult to remember One important point - make sure it's at least 10 characters long & not based on a common expression. While Shakespeare himself may approve of "Tb,on2b,titq", it’s one that hackers will try because of how popular the phrase is.
Idea 4: MisspellingsIntentionally misspelling words can also create secure passwords if you're careful about it. Try typing words as they sound, such as:
You'll have to be very careful if using this method since the password lists that hackers use include common misspellings (such as 'acommodate'), so the more obscure you can make it, the better. One common mistake to avoid is to use something basic and then substitute similar-looking letters (e.g. an "0" for an "o", or a "1" for "i"). The resulting password might look secure - and even meet common password rules - but in reality, they’re not secure at all. These for example are not secure passwords:
Idea 5: Create a formulaIf you’ve got a mathematical mind then basing a password on a formula or other logical statement could perhaps be an option. It's not for everyone, but passwords of this form can be very strong as they're often fairly long and use mathematical symbols that are rarely seen in passwords. Some examples of these include:
Idea 6: Add punctuationAdding punctuation makes a great way of strengthening passwords. You can take your current password and split it up into chunks of letters with a couple of dots or plus signs inside. Not all websites allow all characters but you can play around to find what they do allow. Try these ideas: Was: Jessica1990 Now: Jessica.19.90:)
Was: EdsaTraffic Now: Edsa!Traffic:(
Password ManagersUnfortunately, it’s almost impossible to remember all of your different passwords. In addition, we know it’s time-consuming to constantly have to type in your passwords at different sites, generate new passwords, track the answers to all your security questions, and numerous other factors. However, there is a solution that will make your life both much simpler and far more secure - Password Managers. These software tools take away much of the stress associated with creating and remembering passwords by:
Password managers work by storing all of your passwords in a database or vault. The password manager encrypts the vault’s contents and protects it with a master password that only you know. It’s critical that the master password you use to protect the password manager is long and unique. We recommend you make your master password based on the password creation ideas that were written above. If your password manager supports two-step verification, use that for your master password as well.
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