With every passing year, our dependency on internet platforms increases, meaning more and more people share personal information on their online devices. Whether you shop on the internet or use telemedicine services, your password is a barrier, stopping unwanted visitors from accessing your accounts.
While many people prioritize making passwords that are easy for them to remember, this also means you're more vulnerable to falling victim to a hacker. So how are your passwords stolen, and how can you make them more secure using dice?
Why Do I Need a Secure Password?
You may ask yourself, why would anyone want my information? You don’t need to work for the CIA to have sensitive information. There are certain things you should try to keep confidential. Someone with bad intentions can do a lot of damage by getting hold of your payment information or government-issued identification.
Although some information breaches are out of your control, you can still limit security breaches from happening to you on an individual level. Having a secure password significantly reduces the chances of falling victim to identity theft or credit card fraud.
How do People Hack My Password?
There are limitless possibilities for what you make your password, so how exactly do people figure out your password?
Some hackers guess your password based on information they know about you. If you aren’t careful and fall for phishing scams, you may hand them the information they need yourself! More sophisticated hackers use programs that crack your passwords or log your keystrokes.
Once they have your information, they can exploit it themselves or sell it to third parties—or both. Some may even use obtained information as blackmail.
Is My Password Secure?
Most of us are familiar with creating a new account. The majority of platforms now offer some guidance on password creation. They require you to add a certain number of characters, use a mixture of upper- and lower-case letters, and include a specific combination of symbols, letters, and numbers.
Following these rules is just the bare minimum you need to do for a secure password. Many internet users continue to make common mistakes that compromise their accounts. Here are some basic tips for what to avoid.
Avoid Common Passwords
Some passwords are so easy to remember that they become popular. Any common password that is easy-to-guess is a no-go.
Your password should be considerably more complicated than “password,” “abcd,” or “qwerty.” Many platforms block you from registering them due to the security risk.
Don't Reflect a Special Date
It’s tempting to use a date that is easy to remember. Unfortunately, your birthday or wedding anniversary aren't that secret, especially as your date of birth is a basic bit of Personally-Identifiable Information (PII) that hackers target and trade easily on the Dark Web. Many people assure you’ll use them, making them easily guessable too. Most platforms block you from only using number strings when you create an account now.
Avoid Using Names
Personal information, in general, is not a good idea. Using your pet’s or spouse’s name makes your password vulnerable. You also should avoid names of your favorite celebrities or sports teams.
Don't Use the Same Passwords Everywhere
You shouldn’t create a single password and use it on everything, even if you think no one will ever guess it. Once someone figures out one account's details, or there's a data leak, then it would compromise all of them.
At the very least, make sure to have unique passwords for accounts you need to keep extra secure, like your work email and bank accounts.
Don't Use the Same Password for Years
While some breaches are public knowledge, others are kept under wraps for much longer. To avoid having your accounts hacked from information stolen 10 years ago, try to update your passwords every once in a while.
Always change a password after a data breach.
Don't Share With Other People
You should really avoid sharing your passwords with anyone else. This is why it is so important to have different details for your secure accounts. You don’t want someone to hack into your bank account because you saved your Netflix info on a shared computer.
How to Generate a Secure Password Using Diceware
The ideal password is something completely random. Because we are always subconsciously guided towards familiar things or patterns, you may need some outside help.
There are numerous proven techniques to create a truly random password. While there are several programs that create secure passwords, there's one method you can employ that means you don’t need any fancy tools or technical background to make your accounts more secure.
How to Use the Diceware Technique to Create a Secure Password
Experts developed an easy strategy to help people create secure passwords.
The Diceware technique involves using ordinary dice and a long list of character strings. Here's what you do:
- First, a user decides how many “rolls” they want in their password. Consider how long a password you need. A five-word passphrase is recommended, so we'll go by that reasoning here too.
- Take your die and roll five times, recording the numbers you get sequentially.
- Using the digits you rolled, find the corresponding character string from the list. While some character strings are meaningless, others represent English words or abbreviations. The official list contains 7,776 different items—one for every possible combination you could get from rolling a die five times.
- Continue the process until you are satisfied with the length of the password.
- The final outcome is your new password!
For special characters or numbers, there are other additional Diceware options you can refer to. These are also determined by rolling a die a set amount of times to match results with a list. Alternatively, you can change letters to easy equivalents, i.e. "i" to "1","!", or similar.
For extra strength, you could consider using the Diceware technique alongside other measures to make a strong password.
Should I Make a Secure Password?
No one wants their personal information leaked on the web. You wouldn’t display your social security number or bank details on a billboard for robbers, so why leave this data vulnerable online?
Using the Diceware technique to generate a password is an easy way to enhance your internet security. A few rolls of a die today may save you stress in the future.