Effective Passwords

 No one wants to have to deal with having their accounts hacked. Having weak passwords can lead to stolen identities and financial resources. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in how they can crack passwords, so having a strong password is as important as ever. The following points are what make a great password:

Length

·         Passwords must be greater than 8 characters. Longer passwords take much longer to crack using brute force attacks.

Uniqueness

·         You should not use the same password for multiple accounts. If a criminal gets ahold of a password for one of your accounts, then they will not be able to use that on all your other accounts as well. They will definitely try.

Randomness/Diversity

·         The characters should include a random assortment of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that are organized in a non-obvious way.

Changed Often

·         By changing passwords frequently, you minimize the risk of a criminal getting a hold of a current password that they can use to steal from you.