The exact length of your password should be as the expert warns you are in immediate danger – but don’t make six common mistakes

CREATING the perfect password to protect your private information is more complex than it seems.

To keep your accounts safe from hackers, it’s best to create long and unpredictable passwords.

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Password entropy measures the difficulty of guessing the password based on the number of characters.

It can also determine the likelihood of a hacker being able to get into an account.

Character length and variation are considered to determine how easy it would be to guess your password.

To create a strong password, it is important to completely avoid simple guesses like “1234” or “password”.

Hackers can also use social media to find your address or pet’s name, so it’s best to avoid these password examples as well.

Specialists in Guardian Security I advise you to create a password with at least 16 characters.

The longer the password, the more combinations there are and the harder it is to guess.

Passwords must also include a variation of uppercase and lowercase letters to ensure uniqueness.

It is also preferable for passwords to include random numbers and symbols.

Personal information is not recommended as it is easily guessed.

Using consecutive numbers or letters is also not recommended when creating a strong password.

Common dictionary words or phrases are also discouraged.

These features will decrease the chances of accounts being hacked.

Even if the password is unique to you, hackers are still likely to be able to crack it.

A security team called Home Security Heroes used an artificial intelligence password tracker to see how easy it was to guess common passwords.

The experiment found that passwords with four or five characters were instantly guessed, regardless of whether numbers, lowercase or uppercase letters, and symbols were used.

Even passwords of up to seven characters were guessed in a matter of minutes.

MANAGE PASSWORDS

Most people create simple passwords that are easy to remember and use them for multiple accounts.

PASSWORD RULES – DON’T BREAK THEM

Here are some important tricks to follow, as revealed by Keeper Security…

1. Be sure to use a combination of upper and lower case letters. It is much easier to “crack” a password if it only uses lowercase letters.
2. Never include personal details such as your date of birth, address and certainly not your name.
3. Make sure each password is at least 12 characters long. This will significantly increase the time it would take a hacker to crack your login.
4. Include symbols whenever you can. Not all services allow this, but if you can add question marks, exclamation marks, hashes, and forward slashes, your password will be much more secure.
5. Make sure to use varying and non-sequential numbers. So instead of having 1234 at the end of your password, mix them up and use a random order.
6. Avoid, whenever possible, using words found in the dictionary in your password.

This exposes you to cybersecurity threats and makes it easier for hackers to compromise your accounts.

Using a password generator is an effective way to create unique and complicated passwords for different accounts.

It may also be easier to create a password that is a string of words.

Using a phrase as your password will help you meet the 16 character recommendation and is easier to remember than a combination of numbers and letters.

It’s best practice to create a password with words grouped together rather than common letters or phrases that can be easily guessed.

Keeper Security also recommends investing in a password manager to protect against cybercriminals.