Managing PINS and passwords
I have one password to log on to online banking, another for my computer at work, yet another for my Kindle account, one more for eBay, a PIN for my credit card, another PIN for each of my two debit cards ... you get the idea. And, of course, you're meant to choose a different password for each account, change them regularly and never write them down. Keeping track of all your passwords and PINs can be exhausting.
To ensure you keep your personal and banking details safe, you need strong passwords and PINs. It's tempting to use the same numbers or words every time but that can be a risky move. That's because if a hacker manages to find your password for one account, they'll be able to access others as well. You should also avoid passwords that could be easily guessed, such as 123456 or "password", which were the top two most-used passwords in 2013 (see breakout).
Experts say the longer a password is, the harder it is to guess, so it's a good idea to use at least eight characters. But the more the better. You should also use a combination of numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase to reduce the chances of it being cracked. Avoid passwords or PINs that contains personal information that could be easy to guess such as your date of birth or pet's name. It's also recommended you don't use real words because hackers often use dictionary programs to crack codes. Another tip is that if you do want to use a word or phrase, misspell it by using symbols and numbers instead of letters. For example instead of MariaRocks I'd use Mr1aR0x.
OK, you've chosen strong passwords and PINs; the next tricky part is trying to remember them! The easy way out is to use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password. They let you store all your passwords in one place and encrypt your data and passwords. They also have generators that come up with randomised passwords that will be strong. You'll only need to remember one - the one to log on to the app. Of course this does lead to the question - how safe are these password managers? It only takes one password to be cracked and the hackers will have access to all of them. Experts say that this risk is less than if you reused the same password on multiple sites. It does mean though that you need to make sure your "master" password is one that will be almost impossible to crack.
Having a strong password and remembering it isn't much good if you don't protect it. Staysmartonline.gov.au says you should never send your password via email or store your passwords in plain text on your computer, never click on links in emails from people you don't know, even from what may appear to be trusted sources such as your bank.
The site also suggests that before you enter your password into the browser, check you are on the correct website. And don't save passwords for important accounts in your web browser as anyone who can access your computer can access those accounts. Web browsers often prompt you to "save" your password. For low-value or unimportant accounts, it is OK to "save" a password to your computer.
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