
Nowadays, passwords are the keys for all your online accounts, and every device you have is locked with a password. We use passwords to keep our privacy and security out of reach of anyone except us. But no password is 100% safe because hackers usually find a way to crack it.
Hackers are using many tools and methods to crack passwords, like brute force attacks, dictionary attacks, and social engineering. However, there is a limit when we talk about breaking a password, and it depends on many factors, like the speed of the processor used to crack passwords and how many devices and what kind of dictionaries are used for that purpose. If the password is strong, it may take decades to be decrypted, but it could take an hour or minutes if the password is weak.
Using a weak password can put your privacy at risk. So, we will discuss how you can make your password strong and hard to crack by using the tricks listed below.
Use different passwords
Many people use almost the same password for all their accounts and don’t care how dangerous it is because one cracked password puts all your accounts in danger. In other words, we can call this a “one point of failure,” which means if you lose one account, you lose all your accounts.
This trick can limit the risks of hacking all your accounts at one time. Anyway, make sure to use a different password for every account, and use passwords you can remember simultaneously.
By doing this, you’re adding an extra layer of protection to your accounts and making it harder for the hacker to steal them.
Use unique passwords
If your passwords are not unique, they could be cracked, especially if you are using predictable words or information like family names, pet names, birthdate, anniversary date, address, and other personal information that anyone can know with a bit of research. Also, a hacker can use dictionaries that contain the most used and known passwords.
So, make sure to use unique, not related to you, passwords, and mix them in a way to be unforgettable, and your passwords will get more robust and become hard to crack. Or, just use the Avast Random Password Generator tool to get a secure combination of characters that will protect you from hackers.
Use letters and numbers
Another trick to make your password strong is to use both numbers and letters, and your passwords will be harder to break and become unpredictable. Also, you can use uppercase and lowercase letters. For example, you can choose one or two letters from your password and change them to uppercase letters. Remember to make the password so that you can memorize it for a long time.
Use special characters
This trick moves your password to a higher level of hardness. You can use many symbols like (! ,@, %, &, “) and other characters you can find on your keyboard. By adding special characters to your password, a dictionary attack will be useless and waste time for the hacker.
Make it longer!
A longer password needs decades to crack. Besides all the previous tricks, you should make your password long enough, at least ten characters, and the more, the better. This technique will strengthen the password and require a long time to crack.
Enable two-factor authentication
Many websites offer this feature for extra protection, like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. So, even if the hackers get your password, they can’t access your account until they enter the passcode.
Two-factor authentication works when another device tries to access your account from a different location. However, you will get a warning message on your smartphone or by email with a passcode, and when this happens, don’t give a passcode to anyone, and change your password immediately with the help of these tricks. But, don’t rely on this feature and use a weak password because a hacker may find a way to bypass it.
Use password generators
If you are facing a hard time remembering all your passwords, you can use applications to solve this problem and allow you to manage your passwords, such as LastPass, Dashlane, 1Password, Avast, and many other apps you can find.
Password generators or password managers give you complicated, randomized, nonsense passwords. Also, keep them safe by locking the app, so you don’t have to remember all passwords but just one.
Either normal users or enterprises can use a password manager. Moreover, password managers offer an encrypted sync so that you can use it on all your devices. You don’t have to worry if your device is stolen or hacked from getting your passwords because those apps are super encrypted.
Conclusion
We have been using passwords for a long time, and it still works. However, there is a biometric locks replacement, and we can call it the future passwords. But it needs time to replace password technology. Until then, we have to make sure that our passwords are strong enough and can’t be cracked by using these tricks.
Despite all warnings and tips, people still use a weak password, putting their accounts at risk, and the solution for this problem is already there; just use a password manager and sleep tight!