The passwords They have existed since we can remember, in the past they were already used to access places or belong to groups and currently with the digitization from many sectors are used in more fields, whether to create social networks, to enter the bank or even for something as basic as unlocking the phone.
It is very common for a large percentage of users to use their passwords. namesthose of their pets either special dates. These keys are easy to guess for criminals, who would guess them in several minutes due to the predictable pattern.
Recently, the Policethe Civil Guard and the cybersecurity agencies They have dedicated themselves to trying to raise awareness among the population about the danger of creating such predictable patterns and about the importance of repeatedly changing passwords for everything. However, it is a problem that has been going on for decades and still seems to have no definitive solution.
According to an annual report of NordPass which analyzes 44 countries including Spainand which investigates many credentials leaked on numerous websites, the most used password was 123456which was used by nearly 30,000 people. The word admin followed, and some variations of the first such as 123456789 or 12345678, also used by thousands of people.
Passwords like a name and numbers that you would think would be wrong are also some of the easiest to guess. These types of patterns are deciphered on the first attempt of any criminal, and the police give a series of tips to avoid using them at all costs.
Patterns that are not recommended to use
- Proper names even if they include numbers (Ana123)
- Basic number sequences, like the ones we saw above (123456)
- Pet names, whether or not they include numbers (Toby123)
- Words like admin
- Names of cities or countries
A weak password can cause strong cyber attacks in which all our data is leaked. This can lead to blackmail, loss of important files, and even a bad reputation if the information is used incorrectly.
How to have secure passwords?
- Long passwords, minimum between 8 and 10 characters
- Use of capital letters
- Numbers that do not follow a simple pattern
- Special characters
If you intend to use a random word, instead of using the word itself accompanied by some numbers, the simplest thing is to convert it into a phrase in which the words are interspersed with uppercase and lowercase letters and signs. It is recommended to change them around every 6 months and have different passwords for each platform.
In case you’ve run out of ideas, there are many ways to create a strong password. The simplest is to go to one of the websites that offer this service and that allow you to create secure credentials of up to 50 characters and with all the existing possibilities (upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols). To do this, you just have to go to any internet search engine, search for “secure password”, choose any of the existing options, configure them and copy them. It is advisable to copy them and save them in a safe place (on a non-digital medium or digital mediums that are not connected to the network) to avoid any surprises. It is also advisable to use a different password in each of the records used, especially those that have relevant personal or economic information. This would prevent all your personal and financial data from being exposed if cybercriminals manage to decrypt it.
It is also recommended a extra protection in case the password is guessed. That is, the platform where security has been breached also asks for a phone number, or facial authentication. Even a double verification through a code sent to the phone itself to know if it is the real user.