Password security
6 of the Best Android Password Managers to Keep Your Device Safe
Nearly everything you use on your phone needs a password—from online banking and social media to productivity tools and e-commerce websites. It’s wise to have strong and different passwords for each service you use to protect yourself from breaches of your personal data. However, remembering multiple passwords made up of long strings of upper and low case letters, numbers and special characters is far from simple. That’s where password managers are a great help. They make it easy for you to create strong, unique passwords for each service you use and change them as often as you want. They streamline the process of signing in; plus, some have value-added features like secure access to credit card information. For World Password Day on 5 May 2022, Alcatel recommends 6 password managers for A...
How Hackers Get Your Passwords & How to Defend Yourself
Sourced from Travellers Despite the world’s best efforts to get everyone off passwords and onto something else (e.g., MFA, passwordless authentication, biometrics, zero trust, etc.) for decades, passwords have pervasively persisted. Today, nearly everyone has multiple forms of MFA for different applications and websites AND many, many passwords. The average person has somewhere between three to seven unique passwords that they share among over 170 websites and services. And, unfortunately, those passwords often get stolen or guessed. This is why I recommend the following password policy guide: Most computer security experts agree with these policy recommendations, but more than a few readers might be shaking their heads, especially at the recommendations to use 20+ character passwords/pass...
Microsoft Phasing Out the Need for Passwords
Image sourced from NS Energy. Microsoft has said that from today its users can begin removing the password associated with their Microsoft accounts and begin using a new suite of methods to sign in instead. The tech empire says that going passwordless is “the next generation of account security” and that once a user removes the password from their account, they will need to sign in using one of several passwordless methods, including the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a physical/biometric key like a thumbprint scanner or Microsoft SMS codes. According to a blog post published by Microsoft, ridding your account of a traditional password and using any of the above methods is actually safer. Passwords have become a cybersecurity risk as of late. Hackers use programs to “brute for...
7 Common Ways Cybercriminals Compromise Passwords
One of the most important parts of avoiding compromise is understanding how cybercriminals may attempt to gain access to your critical data, reveals Renee Tarun, VP of Information Security at Fortinet. He goes on to say that attack techniques continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, giving cybercriminals a vast toolkit to use to exploit users. Here are seven techniques to look out for: Social engineering attacks: Attacks such as phishing through emails and texts, where users are tricked into providing their credentials, clicking on malicious links or attachments, or going to malicious websites. Dictionary attacks: Attacker uses a list of common words, called the dictionary to try to gain access to passwords in anticipation that people have used common words or short pass...
