Changing your passwords can be tedious, but it’s is also an important way of keeping your accounts safe to avoid hacking and fraud.
Changing Your Password
Changing your passwords often and making sure you have different password for each of your accounts limits your chances of being hacked.
By changing your password frequently, if a hacker does get in, they are less likely to get frequent access. It also means that if you happen to lose or change one of your devices, you’re not at risk of someone accessing your accounts through your saved passwords, as these will no longer work.
You should make sure to change your password:
- After a security breach
- If you suspect someone has accessed your account without your permission
- If you discover malware on your device
- If you shared your login information with someone you no longer have contact with
- You used an unsecure network
Using Unique Passwords
If a hacker manages to get into one of your accounts, and you use the same password for all of them, all of these other accounts are now at risk. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep a different password for each one.
The best passwords are strong, random and unique. The stronger, and more unqieu it is, the less often you will need to change it.
Try making your password at least 12 characters long and adding at least one capital letter, number and special character.
Using the same password for everything certainly can seem to make life easier, as it means you can manage all of your accounts with ease. However, this puts you at risk from hackers or scammers, who could steal your identity, personal information, and money. Compromised passwords can be used to gain access to financial accounts, leading to stolen funds or unauthorised transactions.
Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication also adds a layer of security to your accounts.
This is a security process wherein you provide two different authentication factors in order to verify yourself, such as typing in a password as well as a code which is sent to you by text or email.
Overall, cybercrime is becoming increasingly widespread both in the UK and globally, and keeping your accounts safe is one way in which you can protect yourself from becoming another victim in these statistics.