What does your password handling look like?

When it comes to their online passwords, many Germans prefer continuity: 37.6 percent said in a representative Civey survey commissioned by the eco association that they change their passwords less often than once a year. 14.8 percent say they never change them. Once a year, 7.9 percent think of new passwords for their online accounts, and 16.9 percent several times a year.

Is that enough?

Every year, “Change your password” day on February 1st aims to motivate people to change passwords. However, users should only take action if they are unsafe. In 2022, the most popular password among Germans was “123456,” according to the Hasso Plattner Institute .

“Given the number of passwords we use, it is better to use strong, hard-to-crack passwords rather than changing them frequently. Strong passwords protect your online identity and prevent unauthorized access to personal or business information. An additional, second factor is even better.”

Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, board member for IT security at eco – Association of the Internet Industry. v.

With these three eco tips you can stay safe on the Internet:

Tip 1: Swap insecure passwords for cryptic ones

These are eight to twelve characters long and consist of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters - in arbitrary order. Check that your important online passwords are secure and hard to crack - and if necessary, change them today.

Tip 2: Use a password manager...

... because secure passwords are difficult to remember. This means you only have to remember one password, namely the one for your password manager. For all other purposes, the software automatically generates strong and unique passwords and stores them in encrypted form - locally on a device or online. This has the advantage that you can also access your own passwords on mobile devices and with different devices.

Tip 3: Use two-factor authentication for particularly secure access

A second identification method, in addition to the password, increases security. This two-factor authentication is available in numerous variants, for example as a code via SMS, with a TAN generator in online banking or in an app. A strong password and activated two-factor authentication provide very effective protection against misuse by criminals.

The eco association also gives a suggestion on how to easily remember even a complex password. It helps to think of a sentence or phrase and take the first letters of each word and combine them with special characters and numbers. Example: From “I live in a yellow house and have 2 cats” IwiegH&h#2K! become.

Graphic for the survey: eco / Civey
Graphic for the survey: eco / Civey

Source:

eco association

Also read our fact checks:
Aydan Özoguz never said that!
Nattokinase is not a “lifesaver for those affected by spike vaccination”
All clear: fever juice “IMET” for children is approved in Germany


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


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 )