A SIMPLE password trick can stop cyber-criminals from breaking into your online accounts.
It’s designed to stop a serious cyber-attack that lets crooks access all of your logins – and wreak havoc.
When cyber-criminals manage to sneak in to one of your accounts, this can allow them to “cascade” into others.
This puts your personal and financial info at risk – and potentially your money too.
But one of the easiest ways to stop that is to avoid re-using passwords on multiple websites.
Sadly some gadget owners find this difficult – so there’s a clever trick you can employ, according to Darren James, Senior Product Manager at Specops Software.
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Speaking to The U.S. Sun, Darren revealed the dangerous fate of people who re-use passwords.
“We have so many passwords to remember these days, both for personal and work, that it’s easy to fall into the trap of using the same across multiple websites, apps and services.
“However, that means that if just one of those websites or services get compromised and that password gets stolen, you put at risk your entire online life, possibly your credit rating and even your job!”
One option that Darren recommended is to simply use a password manager.
That will allow you to use unique and complex passwords for all of your online accounts.
“Instead of reusing passwords, make use of the password managers built into your phones or web browsers and let them create a strong password for you and store it securely,” Darren explained.
“Of course that also means you need to have a strong PIN number on your phone or password on your computer, so don’t make that easily guessable either.”
You can even access them for free: Apple has built the iCloud Keychain into iOS for your iPhone, and Google offers a similar password manager into its Chrome web browser.
But if you don’t want to use a password manager, Darren has a “random guess” trick that you should consider trying.
“Another useful password technique is to try thinking of 3 random words and creating a passphrase (instead of as password) that’s easy to remember but difficult for someone to guess,” the cyber-expert suggested.
That’s not the only way to stay safe online.
There’s one more essential security rule that everyone should follow: login verification.
“Most importantly, don’t forget to turn on two-factor authentication whenever possible for apps and website, that extra step may seem arduous,” Darren told us.
“But it can protect you from cyber-attack in the case your password is compromised.”
Many apps offer this service, requiring a code (sent via authenticator app or SMS text) to log in.
And it can mean the difference between cyber-safety and a dangerous hack attack.
