Password Strategies: Increasing Your Password Protection

Hacking tools are getting better which means that you have to improve how you protect yourself.

As technology improves, so does the power of computers and just how fast they can perform calculations. As a result, the tools which hackers use to guess passwords improves. As we have learned, nothing can stop all possible attacks against a computer or network. The only way to stop things from attacking your computer is to disconnect from the Internet or network. If someone can physically access your computer, they can probably gain access if they have the right skills and tools. Being a small business owner, implementing a good password policy or plan is key to protecting your computers. There are many other things which can be done, but passwords are a critical part of the process.
Even a firewall is a great tool, but if you do not change the default logon and password which comes with it, you are opening yourself up to get hacked. While groups like Anonymous have successfully hacked into web sites, it makes it even more important than ever to protect yourself. Passwords is one area where you need to make sure you are setting your passwords with enough complexity to make it much harder for it to be cracked. In order to do that, there are certain basic principles which you need to follow. While not every place you have a password will allow you to implement these kinds of techniques, you need to do everything you can to make it very hard to get your password.

One of the biggest items is to not have words or phases as part of your passwords which are easily guessed or associated with you. The name of your pet is one that people often use. There are dictionary attacks which use a list of common passwords in an automated fashion to guess a password. As a result, you need to use a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and special characters to make up your password. This is the first step in protecting yourself from attackers who are trying to get into your account or computer. If you do anything less than having a password with a mix of these characters, you are making it much easier for those who are out in the wild trying to gain access to someone's password to gain access.

The next thing you need to look at is the length of the password you are using. While some sites limit the length, you need to make sure it is at least 8 characters in length. Anything less makes it easier for someone to guess. That is the old belief as to password length. That has been replaced with the belief it should be 12 characters at minimum. You have to remember the longer a password is in length, the harder it is to crack. There has been the password length versus password complexity debate that has been going on for many years and will continue. I prefer to have both a long and complex password, but that does not mean I will be safe long term. You have to keep re-evaluating your password strategy at least once a year to see if it meets the demands that are being placed on it.

The real issue is how long it will take someone to crack your password. Given improving technology, hackers can use it to their advantage. Brute force attacks will take years as your password length exceeds 12 characters and is not all just letters. The more numbers and special characters that you can include all the better to protect yourself. This is about making sure the door stays locked for what you have control over.

Just looking at the web alone, there are so many different places where we use passwords. You definitely do not want to use the same password more than once. If you do and they guess that password in one location, they can try to access other locations to gain access. We have so many different places where we have passwords, such as email accounts, Social Networking (such as Facebook) and a host of other online sites where we might makes purchases (such as Amazon). It is important for you to understand the risks of not have long and complex passwords to protect yourself.

You do not leave your front door unlocked to you home when you are away. You lock it to make it much harder for someone to break in. The same applies to passwords as you want to make it as difficult as possible for them to gain access.