The Importance of Passwords

Filed in archive Did you know , Tips on December 22, 2009

© marstheinfomage


Passwords rule our lives. We use them to log on to our computers, our emails, our voicemail, even our phones. Not to mention all the different social media profiles and applications we use on a day-to-day basis. Cell phones may have given us the opportunity to forget phone numbers, but computers have forced us to remember even more random sequences.

Unfortunately, we create so many passwords and remember so many random combinations of numbers that we often forget what they exist for. To create less confusion we often make up passwords that are simple and easy to remember. Then we use them over and over again for every account. This system may be easy but it's not safe. The New York Times recently published an article titled "If Your Password Is 123456, Just Make It HackMe". They write that the most popular password currently is 123456.

The point is that if a hacker really wanted to get into your account there are a number of common passwords that they could try. These passwords are often simple combinations or words like "abc123" "password" or "qwerty". If one account has this password it's very easy for hackers and even less technologically sophisticated people who might just want to have access to your information, get into your accounts.

You may not be worried about hackers. You might think "all that's in my email is just stuff about projects". But if you purchase anything your email might have credit card details or even personal contact information for high-end clients. And of course using the same password over and over again could put your entire identity at risk - not just your email.

Strongly consider keeping a hard copy of all your passwords somewhere safe so that you don't forget them but still keep each and every account protected.

Have you ever had someone break into your email or other online account? What happened?