Passwords That You Should Not Be Using

Merry Christmas everyone! Here’s a quick blog to protect your peace of mind as you celebrate Christmas. Passwords are meant to protect your personal information, identity, bank accounts and other valuable stuff. Although websites now require you to put strong passwords and change them regularly to avoid compromising your accounts, some users are just too lazy or too naïve to make an effort. Here are some of the riskiest passwords you should avoid using.

Common words

Weak passwords are passwords that are easy to guess or hack. The dumbest passwords some people use are things that are easily found in dictionaries as they have little to zero password strength. These words can be randomly and easily run using software to hack into your accounts. Common sense tells us that these are the first ones to avoid. But common sense isn’t too common.

Personal information

Never use personal information as passwords. This means not using your name, obviously, your birthday, your age, etc. Don’t also use your spouse or children’s personal information as well. Of course, it is easier to remember a password if it is a piece of personal information. But that’s courting disaster.

Repeated passwords

It is extremely hard to keep track of passwords. That’s why people just tend to recycle them for different websites and accounts. But there’s a real danger that if one of your accounts is compromised, they rest can follow. It is truly worth it to put in a few seconds of your time coming up with a unique password. Your headaches will be so much more if and when your accounts are compromised due to laziness.

Answers to security questions

While these may not necessarily passwords, these can still be used to hack your accounts. So note this well. Security questions are also meant to secure your account. They are helpful when you have lost or forgotten your passwords. However, these questions are quite general by nature, like “What’s the name of your pet?” and “Who was your favorite teacher?” The answers can easily be found in your own social media accounts if you are not quite careful and vigilant.

The ways to come up with strong passwords are limitless. You just have to put in a little time and effort with a pinch of creativity. Moreover, there are password managers that help us with these. So don’t risk getting hacked by using some of the risky and lazy ones detailed above. We’re all guilty of them. So let’s head over to our accounts and update our passwords right away!

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