With all the services we use today, it can be somewhat difficult to remember all the possible passwords for each of our accounts. Even though there are stricter parameters in password creation now, such as having at least one number, one capital letter, and one special character, many of us still do the worst mistake of them all: we reuse our passwords.
Why Password Reuse Is Really Bad For You
Even though we all know we shouldn’t, most of us still use the same password for most of our accounts. LastPass has surveyed more than 2,000 users on their password habits and found that “91 percent know there is a risk when reusing passwords, but 61 percent continue to do so.”
It’s convenient, and you don’t have to worry about ever forgetting your password, right? While convenience is the number one reason most of us do this, it is a troubling habit that puts you at risk – all your personal information could end up being stolen. Reusing passwords is risky because:
Not all websites have good protection
Source : www.commonplaces.com
While Google puts a lot of emphasis on security and makes sure all your data is well protected, not all websites and businesses invest so much into security. If the security of a website is flawed because they don’t use encryption to store their customer data, for example, hackers can easily get their hands on your password.
When one of your accounts is hacked, all of them are
Source : vice.com
Using the same password on any site, regardless of their security measures, means that if any of those websites is hacked, your master password will give hackers access to all your accounts.
Some accounts don’t have two-factor authentication
Source : www.eff.org
While having your account password stolen is not an issue for websites that require additional authentication to give access to the account, most websites still don’t have that option. If you have entered your credit card details on any of such sites, it could end up being stolen.
You could become a victim of identity theft
Source : www.moneyunder30.com
when you use the same password for all accounts, hackers can easily impersonate you when they get access to all your social and bank accounts.
Your contacts could become victims of fraud
Source : www.lockwoodseniorliving.com
Once hackers get a hold of your email or social accounts, they can message your friends and try to get some money out of them (remember the “stranded in another country, lost my luggage” email scams?) or send them links or attachments with malicious programs.
How to Make Sure Your Passwords Are Always Unique
Source : skyhighnetworks.com
While it’s not possible to remember all 30, 50, or 200 passwords you have accumulated over the years of internet usage, you can keep them all safe with the right software solutions. Your internet service provider might also have security packages that will help you keep your passwords and identity safe.
Also, if you use the Chrome and Google password manager combo, Google offers to generate a unique, strong password for each new site you register to and automatically save it to your browser. You can also opt for password manager software that can help you keep your passwords safe and even detect reused passwords.
Only a unique password is ever truly secure, so make sure you don’t reuse any of them.
