One of the most popular mistakes regarding the usage of the Internet regards the usage of passwords themselves. Even though it is no longer a secret that there are enough scammers around who can pretty easily get access to some crucial information and get you into a trouble if one is not careful enough with one’s passwords, many people still make at least one mistake regarding this crucial element of cybersecurity.
Even if you yourself believe you are doing everything needed to protect your personal data, this article will remind you of the mistakes you might be still making yourself.
Using a single password for every login you are using
One of the worst things a user of the Internet can do is using a single password to all of the possible logins he or she has online. Probably, there is only one thing which could be even worse than this practice which is leaving passwords in the place where anyone can reach them.
If you still do not understand why having one single password to all accounts is a rather bad idea, you should imagine what would happen if all of the possessions owned by a person required the same key to be entered including a coffer. Undeniably, when such a key is lost, all of the places can be opened without any struggle. The difference here is in the probability with which such a key can be lost. In the case of the key to your physical possessions the chances of loss are a way smaller than they are in the case of a digital password since, unlike the latter one, a physical key is used once you get into your private location, whereas a digital password is shared with all of the services which you are trying to access.
You never know at which point one of the services take a note of your password and then, scammers will use it to access the rest of your accounts including the bank ones.
For this reason, it is highly recommended to create different passwords for every account you have.
Having primitive passwords
Another common problem with passwords is the fact many Internet users still tend to create rather simple passwords even though they perfectly know it will be easier for scammers to find out such simple combinations. Furthermore, according to the latest statistics, the most common passwords used online are qwerty and 123456. These passwords have been on pick of popularity for quite a long, so, if it happens you have one of this passwords as well, you can imagine how easily hackers can guess it.
Of course, having such a password seems to be convenient as you can easily remember it, however, there is no sense in using a password which scammers already know.
Not using two-factor authentication
One more popular mistakes made by the Internet users is refusing from the usage of two-factor authentication which is rather bad idea.
The technology of two-factor authentication is a great way to protect your accounts with some additional shield since this technology will require some additional acts from a person who tries to get to your account and merely having a password is not enough. This is really a useful element of cybersecurity which should be used not only with banks and payment systems but also on your social media networks and a variety of other places where scammers can find your personal information or finances.
There are different solutions offered by the technology of two-factor authentication. One of the ways is receiving an additional code with an SMS. It will be required to insert this code to the logging window to your account. There is also another common option which is a push-notification coming to your account as well.
By the way, you can also come across special separate apps which will provide you with the function of two-factor authentication on different services. For instance, Google Authenticator is such an app.
Yes, please. Just avoid using passwords like your birthday date or name of your loved ones.