How do you choose the passwords for your emails, computers and online accounts? Do you set them as something simple like the name of your pet or your birthday? Have you ever had your password hacked and information and data compromised and wondered how it happened? If you thought your password was secure, think again!
Too many people set passwords for their security that are too easily figured out. It takes a matter of seconds for a machine / computer to figure out many passwords. Edward Snowden, who certainly needs no introduction when it comes to digital security, tried to explain this very concept to John Oliver in Moscow. The truth is that an 8 letter password can be quickly translated by a computer. His solution to this particular problem is to choose a password that isn’t so easily guessed by a computer. Instead of 8 letters and numbers, use a whole sentence or phrase. Amusingly, Snowden’s example of a good password was “margaretthatcheris110%sexy”.
Snowden explained that while it seems to be human nature to seek out the shortest password possible that is easy to remember, even when drunk, this is a sure fire way to compromise your security. If laziness ensures that you choose a simple and easy to remember password, understand that you are putting yourself at risk, willingly!
At Soteria Cloud we don’t suggest that you take Snowden’s advice “literally” and actually use his Thatcherism password, but we do agree that more time and effort should be put into choosing a password or pass phrase to ensure that it cannot and will not be easily guessed. Tweak your passphrase with character changes, purposely misspell a word or even throw the dice, whichever method you chose, we also strongly recommend only using an online backup service that encrypts your data for you.
At Soteria Cloud we offer affordable online backup solutions that are secured with encryption and password access. To learn more about our products and services, get in touch with us at Soteria Cloud today.