You know you need unique, hard-to-crack passwords for your accounts, and remembering those complex strings of letters, numbers and characters is a real struggle. That’s why it’s so easy to let your browser do the work for you. But what if you need to see your actual password, not just the auto-filled asterisks? You can with one simple trick.
Stop using that same old password for your online accounts - Try this instead
Hackers have plenty of tricks when it comes to making you their victim. They can send you emails containing viruses and malware. They can send you links that go to malicious websites. They can get you through phony social media accounts and apps that look like legitimate sources.
There are ways you can reduce your chances of getting hacked. Tap or click here for seven secrets these crooks don’t want you to know about.
A weak password is the easiest route for a hacker to take to get into your accounts. You have plenty of resources to help create complex passwords, from browsers to password managers. Some websites even perform a similar function. We’ll go over one and give you some additional tips.
Strong passwords
You don’t want a password to make sense to anyone else. It shouldn’t contain full words or anything that could be traced back to you, including an important date in your life. You want a complex password with letters, numbers and symbols. Tap or click here for more strong password tips.
For some assistance, you can turn to Roboform’s Password Generator. This site takes the guesswork out of password creation. It lets you customize your own password, with options you may never have considered before.
First, choose how many characters you want your password to be. One that is six to 15 characters is considered weak, while 16 and more is strong.
Once you made your selection, move on to what you want to include or leave out: symbols, numbers, lowercase/uppercase characters and more.
Next, click Generate Password to get a new password in the blank field. Don’t like it? Click the refresh as many times as you want and you’ll get a new password each time. Below it, you’ll find a suggestion to help you remember what it is, though this can be obscure.
Below the password generator is a long list of tips for password creation and advice on protecting yourself from exposure to hacks and malware. Tap or click here for the best free iOS password manager.
How to keep your password handy
This handy Chrome update helps fix your bad passwords
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If you want to keep your personal information safe, you need to use strong passwords for all online accounts. Not all of us take the time to do that, even though easy or repetitive passwords put you at risk of being compromised by cybercriminals.
4 ways to beef up your passwords
You can’t make yourself immune to hacking attempts, but a little extra work goes a long way. Here are a few tips to strengthen your account security. Step number one will deter tons of hackers looking for a quick fix.
These are the 20 worst passwords you can use
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It’s a tough balancing act to create a password that’s both strong and easy to remember. If you make your passwords too simple, you can actually put your accounts in danger of cyberattacks.
The strongest passwords always use a complex arrangement of numbers, letters and symbols that make them tricky to guess. If you don’t repeat characters, it can also be difficult for hackers to brute force them. Tap or click here to see our guide to stronger passwords.
A bug in Windows 10 means your passwords could disappear
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The reality is that bugs happen, and they happen often. Any Microsoft Windows user can tell you that much. A Windows patch that was released earlier this year fixed a whopping 113 bugs — and plenty of more updates have followed.
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Use these passwords if you want to get hacked
Passwords are a pain, but they’re worth the struggle. Finding a strong password can be tough, but I’ve got you covered. Here’s what NOT to do!
Passwords. Men do this more than women.
Do you and your significant other share each other’s account passwords? Most couples do. And as long as you’re together, it’s often a good idea. But what happens if you breakup?
6 privacy and security mistakes you’re making on social media
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Pop quiz: What percentage of American adults use social media? Think about it and I’ll tell you the answer below.
From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram and all the sites in between, we’re voluntarily giving out more information online than ever. Tap or click to get a closer look at exactly what Google knows about you and the steps to erase it.
Your passwords are exposed - here's what to do about it
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Pop quiz: How many passwords do you use online? It’s probably more than you can remember right away, and most of the world is right there with you. According to a report from cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows, the average person uses 191 services that require passwords — and more than 15 billion stolen credentials are in circulation. That’s a 300% increase since 2018!
Billions of passwords for sale on the Dark Web - this one was used 7 million times
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How tough are your passwords? Despite what you may think, the best password practices from 10 years ago won’t cut it today. If you share passwords across different websites, for example, it’s time to get busy changing them for the sake of your security.
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The dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases has prompted many businesses to transition to remote work. In 2018, a quarter of Americans worked from home at least some of the time. Now, at-home workers may be the norm for the foreseeable future.
How-to: Lock down private files on your phone or computer
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It doesn’t matter what you save to your phone, computer or tablet — everything you keep on your devices should be considered private unless you give someone else permission to look through your files, images and apps.
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Sometimes, choosing the most interesting questions to highlight is the best part of my job. This week, I received questions about password protection for apps, covert social media searches, smartphone tracking, converting music collections and more.
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