It is the unfortunate truth that the core of many security products still rely on passwords, and those are only as strong as you make them. Given the state of password security that’s not very strong. It turns out, the weakest link in protecting your own data is… you.
The top passwords for 2013 include such gems as 123456, password, 12345678, qwerty and abc123. The truth is these are the first passwords cybercriminals will try, though passwords we consider “better” that use a mix of numbers, letters, symbols or capitals sometimes isn’t that much better. When we rely on people to remember passwords, people inevitably choose easy-to-remember passwords, using common substitutions such as @ for the letter ‘a’, and so on.
If you are taking pains to set up stronger data protections on your social media accounts and apps or you’re setting up encryption or cloud storage or any number of protections, if you have a weak password or you are re-using passwords across multiple log-ins, those protections are worthless. Many people are finding this out the hard way when their ‘advanced’ data protections are suddenly hacked and all their information becomes vulnerable.
Truly randomized passwords, auto-generated and saved in a password manager, offer the best protection available. You can generate and save passwords in various strengths and lengths, depending on the restriction of the login you’re generating. For that one and only password you need to memorize, to access all your stored passwords, you still need to consider creating something unique and hard to crack. Bruce Schneier offers one of the easiest methods to create a memorable and unique passwords.
To summarize:
- Advanced data protections can’t protect your data if your password sucks
- Dictionary-based passwords, even with modifications, are not secure
- Re-using passwords is just asking for trouble
- Auto-generated passwords offer the best protection
- Password managers, well-secured by 1 solid password, offer your best protection
At Absolute LoJack, we care about your data security. We offer you technology to protect your data and remotely delete it in the event of device theft, but theft isn’t the only risk to your data. Take the time to arm yourself with strong passwords wherever you go as the core of your security protections.