- World Passing Day is here
- Most Techradar readers do not change their passwords until they are asked for
- Changing passwords is often a great protection against stolen credentials
World Password Day is here, and in the time of technology, passwords are at the forefront of personal protection and privacy. That said, most of us neglect our password hygiene in a larger way, and we match our Techradar Pro readers through our WhatsApp channel (which can be found here for anyone interested!), And that confirmed our suspicions in a big way….
We like to believe that Techradar Pro readers are pretty knowledgeable and tech-forward, but out of the over 1,200 respondents on our survey said a staggering 84% (over 1,000) that they only change their passwords when they are forced because they forgot it.
Data violations are far too common these days, and with the number of accounts you need just to perform basic tasks (E emails, shopping, watching TV and just about anything else) – it is almost impossible to keep up with violations on every site you have ever signed up for, check out our choices for the best password managers if you want to be on top of them.
Serious risks
This means that passwords need to be changed much more regularly, or ideally everyone needs a unique password for each site that will also be changed regularly. We are aware that this is a big question, so we recommend at least change your password every three months, as only 89 Techradar Pro Readers (only 7%) said they did.
This leaves the middle ground, which is our 35 readers who change their password every 6 months and the 63 of you who change them once a year. It is crucial to change your password if you are exposed in a data violation (and as often as you can remember it!).
To make sure you are as secure as possible, you can check out our biggest tip for creating a secure password so you can make sure each new password offers the best protection.
“Passwords are one of the first critical barriers between a person, a threat actor and a successful cyberattack, but many people make the mistake of recycling the same login credentials across several places and devices,” said Matt Cooke, Emea CyberSecurity strategist at Proofpoint.
“A password administrator creates randomized passwords that are securely stored, encrypted and available across all personal devices and reduces the burden by trying to remember complicated login credentials on multiple sites. It is also best to change all passwords twice a year and change business passwords every three months.”
