Are you in password limbo? This Cybersecurity Awareness Month you can make password security easy with Bitdefender

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is about raising awareness and safeguarding your digital life from all types of internet-enabled crimes.

Maintaining online security and sticking to good cyber hygiene isn’t easy, we know, but with a little care and consistency you really can secure your digital world and safeguard accounts, data and money.

This October we focus on making cybersecurity easy!

Let’s begin with a key element, that, when used correctly, is an extremely simple and effective way to protect your data from unauthorized access: THE PASSWORD

Unsafe passwords are the weakest link between the user and the keyboard. Without a rigorous password policy, you’re risking the livelihood of your digital and physical life.

Did you know?

Passwords are fundamental to online security, and despite billions of compromised passwords throughout the data breach pandemic, individuals keep ignoring the risks at the expense of their identity and hard-earned money.

Bitdefender’s ‘leaks’ database notes up to 28 billion exposed passwords, 98% of which were exposed in plain text along with the email addresses of users. You may also find yourself guilty of using one of the top five most common leaked passwords throughout your digital endeavors, which are:

• ‘123456’
• ‘qwerty’
• ‘111111’
• ‘password’
• ‘12345678’

A compromised password poses a threat to the personal security of the individuals and their workplace, as it lets malicious actors infiltrate accounts and maximize their damage and profit.

Luckily, there are just three simple habits you can stick to and enhance your digital security.

1. Make your passwords looooooong

Passwords with a large number of characters are statistically harder to crack. Increasing password length whenever possible is the way to secure your accounts and prevent hacking attempts. We recommend using at least 16 characters when choosing a new password.

2. Make your password complicated

Complexity is another key component in creating a strong password. If your password is comprised of a single dictionary word such as ‘apple’, ‘qwerty’ or ‘password’ (even with simple substitutions such as ‘@pple), change it immediately! Create a random passphrase and don’t use your name, your child’s name or pet’s name. Complicated or complex passwords require a combination of letters (upper and lowercase), numbers and symbols.

3. Don’t use the same password on multiple accounts

Using unique passwords for all of your online accounts is crucial to your digital security, as it protects you from cyberattacks that leverage exposed passwords (in data breaches, leaks etc.). If one of your passwords is compromised and you haven’t employed additional security measures on your accounts (MFA, 2FA for example), cybercriminals can easily gain unauthorized access to all of those that share the same email and password combo, and steal your data on and money.

‘Keep it secret, keep it safe’

Passwords should be secret, as they allow the holder to access highly sensitive data and financial information.

Just like Gandalf urges Frodo to hide the Ring and keep it safe in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, we too, as digital nomads, should be on a critical mission to keep our passwords a secret at all costs.

We make online security easy

If you’re struggling to create unique and complex passwords for all your online accounts, don’t worry: We’ve got you covered! Add Bitdefender Password Manager to your digital toolkit and say goodbye to password security oversights for a worry-free October!

When you subscribe to our multi-platform tool, you get the strongest known cryptographic algorithms to help you secure and manage all of your online passwords, and the possibility to create complex passwords that meet the highest security standards on all major operating systems.

Stay tuned for more tips and tricks and cybersecurity updates on our blog!

#CyberAwarenessMonth