privacy scandal that's got the world on edge, just last week it was
discovered that over five million Gmail usernames and passwords have
apparently been leaked and shared on a Russian Internet forum.
Slightly unnerved? Freaking out?
You wouldn't be the only one.
Password protection has become a hot topic in recent months, what with
the leak of naked celebrity selfies and the constant threat that one
wrong click will send our most private of communications into the
wrong hands.
So what can you do about it?
Well, let's just say that cold turkey isn't an option. We've all
become just a little too entrenched in the digital world to start
pushing for a complete withdrawal.
The truth is, now everything from paying your bills to RSVPing to your
friend's wedding will probably take place online. There's very little
we can do to completely remove ourselves from the influence of the
internet.
.
Prevention trumps avoidance
Knowing that simply closing up shop and permanently absconding
yourself from the internet isn't an option, the onus now comes down to
you making an effort to adequately protect yourself.
Just as we get insurance to cover our houses and cars, passwords are a
form of protection to keep safe our online information.
So for heaven's sake, don't take them lightly!
With the rise of cloud-based platforms, more and more people are
entrusting their treasured photos, personal emails and private
documents to the security of 8 or more characters.
Why not make the most of those 8 characters?
In the wake of the Adobe password scandal that rocked the digital
world, Mashable published a piecelisting the 20 most popular passwords
used by Adobe customers that had been hacked.
No surprises, some of the offenders featured in the Top 10 were the
all to familiar 'password' and the classic '1234'
How do you protect yourself from a password hack?
Get creative with the shift button and start adding a variety of
numbers and symbols to your passwords.
If you find that tricky to remember, substitute numbers or symbols for
letters that look similar (i.e. m@keb3le1ve instead of makebelieve)
Are you one of those people that uses the same password for their
internet banking as they do for their Facebook page? Well, I've got
three words for you: stop doing it!
If someone hacks just one of your accounts, they will literally find
themselves with all-you-can-eat access to a smorgasbord of personal
information.
The importance of ensuring you use a variety of passwords online
cannot be overemphasised. Having the same password across multiple
platforms is like building your security on a house of cards, if one
falls the rest quickly follow.
I know it's a pain, but so is having the entire contents of your
iPhoto folder shared with the world. Set yourself a calendar reminder
to change passwords periodically so that if any account is
compromised, it doesn't stay that way indefinitely.
A fantastic security measure that is definitely worth the hassle of
setting up. Several services now offer two-factor authentication to
protect yourself from a remote hack.
Google offers two-factor authentication with a handy Google
Authenticator app that automatically generates unique codes on your
tablet or smart phone.
Everyone knows your maiden name or your husband's date of birth. And
even if they don't, those answers are pretty easy to find out with
some basic snooping.
Go for something that's more subjective, a favorite teacher or best
childhood friend. That way, even if someone was familiar with all the
names of your high school faculty, they still wouldn't know which one
was your top teach.
--socialmediatoday.com
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