The use of passwords is an age old practice, from sentinels guarding their position and requesting exact words to allow people to pass right up to modern technological uses where we use them to secure our digital identity.
Many websites we use for business or leisure ask for our personal information such as name, account number/credit card and other data. In addition, we frequently use that information to complete purchase orders, settle debts or perform other business or entertainment transactions.
However, if your password falls into the hands of some hacker the possibility of identity theft or fraud that could jeopardize your assets becomes very real. If the hacker discovers the password of your email he or she could steal valuable information, remove your access to your account and/or use it to send spam to all your contacts.
Despite this, many people do not invest enough time in creating a complex password that can be memorized for each of their accounts and use just one simple password for everything, opening themselves up to be a target of cyber crime.
Among the most common simple passwords that people tend to use are:
• 123456
• qwerty
• date of birth
The solution is simpler than it seems: Create passwords mixing uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, special characters and be sure to use a different one for each site or social network you use (and don’t forget to change them periodically). Although this does not guarantee that your accounts can’t be hacked, it provides a much higher level of user protection.
In addition, there are several guidelines to protect your personal information, including being cautious about which sites you provide information and how you manage your online data.
Do you know another way to protect your personal information? Leave me your suggestions and start the debate.
Jorge Chavez is Senior Editor at Mijo! Brand, Mexico.
