Passwords – How to Make Sure They Are Secure

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Passwords How to Make Sure They Are Secure
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Introduction
Everybody who signs into websites or uses secure
applications has passwords probably a bunch of
them. How secure are your passwords? Are you
sure? This post may shake your confidence, but it
will also guide you on how to create and use
secure passwords.
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How Easy Is It to Crack Passwords
Websites and applications do not save your
password in text form they save a cryptographic
hash of it. Passwords like password, a pet
name, or a common word can be cracked almost
instantly using a special dictionary of common
password components. The table below gives a
rough idea of how much time it would take to
crack a password by brute force
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For full list click https//clickaway.com/wp-cont
ent/uploads/2023/07/2023-Password-Table_Rectangula
r-scaled-e1689025717538-1080x750.jpg
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Password Security

• Three attributes are critical to creating truly
  secure passwords
• Length
• Randomness
• Uniqueness
• Typically, websites and application will not
  accept a password less than eight characters
  long. As passwords get longer than eight
  characters, they become exponentially more
  difficult to guess or crack.
• Truly random sequences of numbers, upper-case
  letters, lower-case letters, and symbols are much
  harder to guess or crack

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Human Limitations
Human short-term memory capability is limited.
The most relevant memory capability measure when
thinking about passwords is span the number of
sequential chucks of information we can hold in
our short-term memory. Span varies with the type
of information to be remembered and is around
seven for digits, around six for letters, and
around five for words. we need passwords for
many websites and applications, but the
uniqueness requirement says each one should be
different. Humans are not good at remembering a
large number of such associations.
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Dilemma
Cybersecurity calls for long, random, and unique
passwords. We see advice all the time telling us
not to write passwords down. However, humans do
better remembering a small number of short
sequences that make sense (not random)
especially if they are written down.
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Password Managers
Password managers are software applications that
store, fill in, create, and manage passwords for
users websites, online accounts, and
applications. Password managers can create long,
truly random, and unique passwords for you and
then store them in an encrypted format. After the
password manager creates a password, you will
need to go to the website, account, or
application and update the password to the one
created by the manager. You do not need to
remember those passwords. Whenever a password is
required, the password manager can fill it in for
you. You only need to remember one secure master
password to access the manager.
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Write Down Usernames and Passwords
The common advice about not writing down
credentials is more likely to prevent you from
accessing your own information than preventing
some bad guy from accessing it.Recording your
credentials on paper (not a computer file) stored
in a safe location will ensure that you never
have to experience that problem. With a password
manager, you will probably only need to write
down one set of credentials. If you decide not
to use a password manager, keep a written list of
credentials (both usernames and passwords) for
every website, account, and application you use
keep it up to date and store it in a safe place.
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Conclusion
Weak passwords can give bad guys access to your
valuable data and accounts. Forgetting your
password can deny you access to your valuable
data and accounts. Why take those chances?
ClickAway recommends that you install and use a
password manager and that you have it create
random passwords that are at least 16 characters
long. Make sure the master password is itself
secure. Write down your important website,
account, and application credentials on paper,
not a computer file, and store the document
somewhere safe.
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Information Source-
https//clickaway.com/passwords-how-to-make-sure-t
hey-are-secure/