Everything we do today involves some sort of online element; whether it is watching movies, utilizing banking apps, shopping and even conducting business. However; with a growing number of high profile websites such as Sony, Citibank and even the CIA becoming victims to hacker attacks, there has never been a better time to re-evaluate the passwords you use for your online accounts.
In a recent New York Times article, Gibson Research Corporation’s chief executive Steve Gibson states “Hacker’s are totally blind to the way your passwords look, the only thing that an attacker can know is whether a password guess was an exact match or not”. It is for this reason, Mr. Gibson recommends using a password which contains 10 characters. Passwords which contain more characters, will take longer to guess the correct combination, 19.24 years to be exact.
Check out GRC’s website to find out how long it would take to guess your password combination.
Encryption adds an additional layer of security because it takes an plain text password and encodes it into a non-readable form or a key. Rather than a hacker trying to guess a password, they must try to figure out the key, which adds a layer of complication. You can find many websites which can help with password encryption by performing a Google search for “password encryption”.
As we rely more heavily on the internet, it is important to remember the user is also responsible for their security. For more about password security, view the NY Times article; Guard that Password.
