Google steps up efforts to make internet surveillance more difficult
Two very common
passwords – and why you shouldn’t use them
Passwords are vitally important when it comes to protecting your security on the internet, as you will be placing them onto websites which contain pages full of your confidential and personal information.
As a result, choosing a password that you are confident no one else will be able to work out is essential if you are to keep prying eyes away from your private matters.
To assist, two well-known organisations in the technology world have carried out research to outline the most popular passwords being used across the internet today. You would be wise to refrain from using them, or quickly change them, to reduce the risk of cyber criminals getting to know a little bit too much about your life.
The obvious warning signs of using ‘password’
Software designer SplashData has spent quite a bit of time analysing information that it obtained from gathering millions of stolen passwords together, which hackers posted online during 2012.
However, the final result may come as a surprise to many people who value their security online – the most popular password from the firm’s data was the easy-to-predict and very unimaginative word ‘password’.
Although people who use this word for their password may argue that it is a means of remembering the code themselves, the fact of the matter is that it makes a hacker’s task of getting into an account oh-so easy too.
The main message – always go for something personal that only you should be able to relate to (although not so obvious to people who know you, as the next point will tell you).
Why it’s barking mad to use a pet’s name for a password
In its own study to find the most popular password online, Google Apps questioned 2,000 web users and concluded that a pet’s name was the clear winner.
Users of the internet will point out that this is a great strategy, as it will be almost impossible for a cyber-criminal on the other side of the world to guess the name of your cherished family cat or dog.
There is no argument against this point, but how about a next door neighbour or an old school friend – we will use the word ‘friend’ loosely here!
No doubt people will know the name of your family pet and, with this information in the wrong hands, you could be giving people an easy entry into your bank account, email or social media profile.
These are just the two main examples of most common passwords though. Click this link to complete a survey set up by the Daily Telegraph and you could soon realise that a password you thought was secure in not that private at all.
However, this is just a start for protecting your personal information on the World Wide Web. Obtain confidential software for your PC or laptop from a specialist internet security firm like ABM Software and you will create a rigid security wall that even the savviest of hackers will have a tough time breaking through.
