You constantly need passwords on your PC, your Xbox, PS5, or for banking. MeinMMO gives you some tips and explains why strong passwords are important.
Why do I need a strong password? With passwords, you protect your account or your data, and usually, you don’t want someone else to have access or to shop with your bank account.
The stronger your password, the harder it is for thieves or hackers to guess it. And they use some nasty tricks to get your code. A long, strong, and complex password makes it all the more difficult for such people to access your data.
Therefore, here are some tips and advice on what you should consider for your future passwords.
1. Do not use personal information
If you want a strong password, then avoid using personal information. This includes
- Names of family, friends, or pets
- Birthdays
- Your personal address or place of birth
- Numbers like phone numbers or anniversaries
This makes you vulnerable, as such information is often available online. If you secure your Facebook account with your birthday or your partner’s name, you shouldn’t be surprised if your account is suddenly used by someone else.
2. Do not use the same password for different accounts
The more passwords you use in everyday life, the more you need to remember. Many think it’s easier to protect different accounts with the same password. However, thieves can exploit this convenience.
Because in the dark web, you can buy databases that contain login data and passwords. If your password has been leaked there and you use it for different accounts, then hackers have it easier to access your data. It’s best to use different passwords.
3. Avoid “real” words
Words are easy to remember since we use them constantly in our language. But hackers can take advantage of this too. There are dictionaries that hackers can quickly use to check and crack passwords. If you use a single word for your password, it makes it easier for attackers.
It’s best to use fragments of words or interchange single letters with numbers. Such small adjustments can make a big difference.
4. Use long passwords
Passwords with just 3 letters can be cracked in seconds and do not protect your data at all.
The longer the password, the longer it takes for hackers to figure it out. In a “brute-force attack,” a computer program tries all possible combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols as quickly as possible to crack the password. The longer and more extensive your password, the longer it takes. Passwords with 3 letters can be cracked within a second.
5. Use crazy letter combinations
Long passwords that contain random words and phrases are really strong. They are also harder to crack if the letter combinations cannot be found in a dictionary or your password is grammatically incorrect.
Ideally, you mix numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters to create a particularly strong password.
These combinations can also be very memorable in some cases. If you have a favorite sentence, take the first letters of each word in the correct capitalization along with punctuation. Since you can remember the sentence, it makes it easier to remember the combination of the password as well.
6. Change passwords regularly
Constantly changing your password sounds like work, and probably very few of you want to keep remembering new passwords. However, depending on what data or access you secure with the password, it’s safer to occasionally change a password—especially if you notice you’ve already used the password elsewhere.
7. Try out password managers
Password managers can make your life a bit easier. You create a master password, with which you then secure and automatically use all other passwords. Four well-known managers that are currently recommended are:
- Keepass (Open Source, desktop version only)
- LastPass (free and paid, about 2.90 euros per month)
- Chrome Password Manager (free)
- NordPass (free and paid; support for 2FA and security keys)
However, password managers are such a vast topic that a further article should follow in the future, which deals specifically with such managers.
What do you think of the tips? Do you consider them self-evident, or can they not be repeated often enough? Discuss with each other in the comments and share if you have any further interesting tips.
