Today is “Change your password” day. But I don't know whether you really need to change your password today.
Password security is an important issue. That’s why there is this “Change your password” tag. This has always taken place on February 1st . The reason for this is important, I don't want to contradict that (we always informed ).
It's about the advice to think about the importance of your own passwords. Passwords protect your digital self. They protect your access and ultimately also your finances if you carry out online transactions.
Hence the important advice: pay attention to your passwords! What you don't necessarily have to do today is choose a new password. However, this depends on what your previous passwords look like.
Do NOT change your password today* I wrote in the heading. There is a * on it that I want to explain here: Do not change your access data today if you already use a strong password that is not too old.
Strong passwords are more important than constantly changing ones
Because before you fall into blind activism today and just pointlessly change your passwords everywhere, you should better ensure strong passwords on your accounts. Strong passwords consist of:
- at least 10, preferably 15 characters
- Include as many different types of characters as possible (unfortunately some platforms do not allow everything): small/capital letters, numbers, special characters
- They should not contain any terms, especially no terms or data from your personal environment (names, birthdays)
If you already use such strong passwords and they are not too old or a platform you use has been compromised, it is not absolutely necessary to change your password today.
However, you should see whether you can strengthen the protection even further. An example is 2-factor authentication. This means that to log in to a platform you need 2 factors. The first factor is usually “knowledge”. You know your password. So you type in your password to log in. Then the second factor comes into play.
The second factor is usually possession (not necessarily). You have a device that authorizes you to access. This is usually a smartphone to which you will receive a code at this moment. You then have to enter this code.
Ergo: Only those who have both factors (knowledge and possession) can log in. So even if someone knows your password, nothing will work without the “possession” factor.
And anything else?
Yes, the old saying: Please use a different word for each access. Just do it. I know I've caught myself in the past, but it's better.
And then my advice on how to remember a strong password: Just remember one sentence! A sentence that always comes to mind anyway. Take all the first letters and punctuation marks from this. Then you put numbers in somewhere (for example the number of words and characters) and you're good. Example:
Mimikama is truly the best site against fake news on the Internet , really !
And now you have a great password: MiedbSgFiI,w!13
[mk_ad]
Zack, that was it. For example, my Twitter password is over 20 characters long. No one can remember. But I can remember the long sentence behind it for the rest of my life.
And otherwise: password managers can help. I won't recommend any specific product to you now.
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )