Simply by putting a password to your accounts, it does not mean that they are fully protected. It will depend a lot on what that password is like. If you make a mistake when creating it, if you use one that is easy to decipher, it is like having a door closed without a key. Attackers will have the opportunity to break that protection.
To know more about you
What hackers are using is to know more about the victim. What does this mean? For example, discover your date of birth, hobbies, full name, place where you live, telephone number… In this way, they can have clues about what password they are going to use. Maybe use a combination of your name and date of birth or your mobile number and a sport you play.
The goal of cybercriminals is have all the information possible about the victim. From there, they perform brute force attacks but focusing on those possible combinations that may exist. The more data they have, the more likely they are to find the correct password and enter the bank account, social networks, email…
This is a classic when it comes to steal access keys, but the truth is that hackers now have more tools to launch those brute force attacks. They will have a greater chance of success and it is just what should be avoided so that they cannot access an account on the Internet.
Passwords like “123456” are still widely used. However, today there are many services that will force you to enter a more secure password. You can see that they ask you to enter a combination of letters (even some capital letters) and numbers, as well as a longer length. To make it easier, many users put words and digits that they are going to memorize well and that is where the error comes.
Protect your passwords
So what can you do to avoid this type of attack and protect your passwords well? It’s very simple: use totally random keys. This means that you must use letters (both upper and lower case), numbers, and other special symbols. Additionally, you must take into account that the length is correct. To give you an idea, a password of 12 characters is better than 10.
But there is a fundamental factor and that is that you should not use that same password elsewhere. For example, do not use the same password in your email account and in any forum or website. In case there is a vulnerability in a platform where you are registered, if you use the same password they could try to enter the rest of the online services. A domino effect would occur.
Therefore, check your passwords very well of access. It is essential to prevent your passwords from being cracked and thus protect any account on the Internet. It doesn’t matter if it’s social media, email, or something you only use occasionally.
