We’ve all fumbled through the process of creating passwords on websites that have a bunch of rules: two capital letters, a number, a special character etc. And once you pick it, you then have to remember it or write it down. But, you’re belief is your account is secure after all the hassle, right? Experts say NO.
“We are kinda moving towards, outsmarting a computer.”
In today’s high tech world, password requirements plague everything from online banking to job applications. But the word from a report by the Better Business Bureau says the requirements are outdated and under researched. John Masterson, Director of Marketing for the Better Business Bureau serving West Michigan says you need more than a few special characters and numbers to keep your account safe.
“So, we’re basically in need of creating longer passwords, because they are in a sense harder and take longer for a computer to crack. So by doing that, you protect yourself and mitigate against anyone trying to get into your account.
And even though they’re longer, Masterson says, you can still remember them.
“One of the recommendations is using four words, like correct horse battery staple. That would be a really long password for the computer to crack. All to say, if you have your name, or password 1 or use an exclamation point, that’s not necessarily that secure these days.”
Masterson says once you’ve made your passwords harder to crack, you should also make sure your accounts haven’t had any unauthorized login attempts..
“If you get an email, it’s usually an email alerting you that someone is trying to get in to your account, what you can do, is go whatever program whether twitter or Facebook, and basically reset your passoword. Don’t necessarily click the links through the email you were sent because that’s something they do for phishing.”
Masterson also says if you’ve had unauthorized log in attempts, you can call the Better Business Bureau of West Michigan. He says their Scam Tracker monitors and investigates patterns across the web, which then allows them to issue warnings and alerts to consumers.
