The most common password currently in use is 123456

Bots and other automated attacks will run through lists of the most common passwords when they try and access your information, so make sure to avoid these common mistakes.

Do!

  • Use a password wallet (more about this later)
  • Change your password regularly
  • Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Use special characters and numbers
  • Use long passwords (see “TheEagleWasGoldTheSkyWasGrey” below)

Don’t!

  • Don’t use sequences of numbers (123456, 101112, etc) or alphabetical sequences of letters (abcdef, etc)
  • Don’t use the name of your pet, favourite sports team, your favourite film, your favourite band, your birthdate and so on. In fact, avoid using any detail about you as a password. Even if you don’t use social media people can still gather a surprising amount of personal information about you and use that information to guess your passwords
  • Don’t use simple one word passwords (and that includes using “password”)
  • Don’t use the same password for different things
  • Don’t share your passwords with other people
  • Don’t write your passwords down

Password Wallets

One of the simplest ways to manage all of your passwords (and in particular to manage complex passwords) is by using a password wallet. There are many available, personally we recommend LastPass, which is easy to use and once you have it installed in your browser it will auto fill your password fields for you.

You can use LastPass to set very difficult passwords, such as jdJDY$265$@&^58756w86, that you are unlikely to be able to remember on your own.

With having all of your passwords in one place then you will need a good password for your password wallet. One way to have a strong, memorable password is to create a nonsense phrase that you can recall easily. The password TheEagleWasGoldTheSkyWasGrey is easy to remember and also very, very secure.

If you would like to discuss any security concerns you have, or would like help in setting up password security then get in touch or call us on 01625 666900.