Passwords are the keys to your privacy and security. They protect your account from hackers and cybercriminals, who are always trying to steal your sensitive information. However, some people still choose weak passwords because they can’t remember them.
Someone who is looking to hack into your account will try to get your password by running through different combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols.
With the new hacking techniques and advanced technology, passwords are not as secure as they used to be, and it only takes a hacker on average six months to crack a password. There are some ways that you can make your password more secure like using an upper-case letter and adding numbers and symbols – but these methods are quickly becoming outdated.
Strong passwords should have at least eight characters in length with both upper-case letters and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. It is also advisable that you use different passwords for every site or service that requires you to log in with a password.
How Long It Takes For Your Password To Be Cracked By A Hacker
Data from cybersecurity company Hive Systems shows how long it takes hackers to crack your password based on the length and complexity.
It further shows that for the average hacker even an eight-character password with a mix of numbers, uppercase letters, lower case letters, and symbols can be hacked within 5 hours.
In the chart below, provided by Hive one can see on average how long it takes these hackers to get into our account.
Why Passwords Are No Longer Secure And What You Can Do About It
As can be seen from the chart above, having passwords only are no longer a secure way of protecting our data. This is because they can be stolen, guessed, or even lifted from a computer’s memory when it’s turned off. The average person has around 100 different passwords for various accounts and services and it’s becoming more difficult to remember each one.
There are some ways to protect yourself from this threat. You can use password managers like Last Pass, Bitwarden, or 1Password to generate strong passwords that you only have to remember one of them. You should also use two-factor authentication which will require you to enter your password and an additional code that is sent to your phone before you can log into your account.
On the web, no one and nothing is safe or hidden. Rather do more than less to protect your privacy on the web. If you need help securing yourself on the web or if you have any questions please feel free to contact us either via our website: www.haloweb.co.za or email [email protected]. Or send us a WhatsApp on 072 128 9814
