Yesterday was World Password Day (yes, it really exists) and it is all about creating awareness for online password security. Each person has various ways of managing passwords but it is scary how many use passwords that are easy to guess.
Here are some stats for you:
- In the past year, 2 in 5 people were subjected to account hacking/hijacking through poor password management
- Around 21% of people have been using the same password(s) for many years
- The most common passwords are ‘123456’, ‘password’ and ‘qwerty’
- Over 30% of people use a birthday as their password
- Around 73% of users use the same password across multiple accounts
- 2 in 5 people have passwords written down
- 8 out of 10 people are concerned about password security
- 68% believe a company should provide the security
- 86% of users who use 2FA (ie extra security codes etc.) believe it to be a secure layer. It is!
Let’s be honest, using password strings like ‘bNps7nqSz75v’, although secure, is not always easy as there is no way to remember that. The good news is that there are ways to remember your passwords by the use of password managers. Browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox have them built in but if you would like an even more secure setup there are other options:
- Internet Security Packaged – Some companies such as McAfee, Comodo, etc. provide applications for managing password security
- Independent Software – LastPass, 1Password, etc. provide cross-device applications for managing passwords as well as running security checks, updates, and so on.
- Open Source Software – If you want to be ultra-secure, you can use applications such as KeePass to keep all your passwords offline (can be risky if you are relatively inexperienced)
It seems like there is a designated ‘day’ for everything nowadays, but at the least this one is a timely reminder to keep your accounts secure!
