Android and iPhone owners have warned about the ‘password myth’ that allows logins to be stolen in seconds – three rules that should never be broken

A COMMON password myth can leave your online accounts exposed.

Security experts are urging all gadget owners to check their account passwords to make sure they’re not violating an important rule.

It’s related to the length of your passwords – it may be too short to avoid being “cracked”.

This is when criminals use applications to guess infinite combinations of logins to try to break in.

“In 2024, a strong password is a long, complex password,” explained Keeper Security’s Ashley D’Andrea.

“In the past, a strong password was considered strong if it contained 12 characters.

“However, standards have now changed to recommend a strong password of at least 16 characters.”

The difference in how long it takes for a password to be cracked based on length can be staggering.

A 2023 report from Oberlin College revealed how a numbers password could only be cracked “instantly” if it contained fewer than 12 characters.

Meanwhile, a 16-number password would take an hour to crack.

A password with lowercase letters can take a hacker 14 hours to crack with 12 characters.

But that goes up to 713 years with 16 characters.

THREE PASSWORD RULES TO FOLLOW

But character length is not the only problem.

“Not only should your password be 16 characters long to be strong, but you should also include a variation of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters to make it complex,” Ashley explained.

The same cracking report above says that while a 12-character password with numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols takes 226 years to crack – it would take five billion years to crack a 16-character equivalent.

STRONG PASSWORD TIPS – DON’T IGNORE THEM!

Here’s what you should try…

• Use a mixture: Combine uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.
• Avoid common words: Avoid easily guessable words and phrases.
• Length is important: Look for passwords with at least 12 characters.
• Unique passwords: Use different passwords for different accounts to increase security.
• Passwords: Consider using a series of random words or a memorable phrase.
• Memory Tricks: Use mnemonics or acronyms to remember complex passwords.
• Password managers: Use password management tools to store and generate strong passwords.

Likewise, don’t reuse passwords or you’ll make a hacker’s life much easier.

Secondly, it’s important to make sure you’re not putting anything silly in your password.

“A great way to ensure you have a strong password in 2024 is to avoid using common words or phrases, as well as any personal information,” said Ashley.

“For example, imagine your pet’s name is Buddy and you decide to add your date of birth to your password to make it Buddy1387.

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.

“A cybercriminal can use publicly available information, such as your social media profiles, to collect this information about you and your pet from your online accounts and then use this to gain access to them.”

And thirdly, don’t let your account security depend entirely on a good password.

Turn on two-factor authentication so you need other information to log in – like a code sent via text or through an authenticator.

And if your account has the option to use access keys (which cannot be leaked), enable those too.