Password entropy is a measurement of difficulty, having higher password entropy makes it harder for hackers to gain access to your accounts. According to a Verizon Data Breach Report in 2017 “81% of hacking related breaches used either weak or stolen passwords”.
Some of the ways hackers gain access is by using simple guesses, such as “123456”, “qwerty”, and “password” which were all found in the top 5 passwords of 2021. Other ways include brute forcing passwords which utilizes programs that attempt dozens of guesses every minute based on mathematical probabilities, or by using social media to do research on the intended target and make guesses based on the information they can gleam from those accounts. The easiest way to make sure you have a good entropy score is to utilize a passphrase.
A passphrase is a string of words, numbers, and symbols that don’t have to be grammatically correct or sensical. An example of a passphrase would be “Growth Stair Advise 1”. A passphrase is easier to remember than a complicated password that uses number substitutions, symbols, and capitalization rules. The length of a passphrase helps protect against brute forcing program which usually suffer trying to crack passwords longer than 10 characters. However, it is advised to not use popular song lyrics, children’s names, or other information that could still be found on your social media.
No security feature is 100% effective, but this relatively simple change is another tool to utilize when it comes to projecting your accounts and privacy.
As always if you need help with anything streaming or smart home related you can contact us at 309-778-8611 or by emailing us at OneSource@midcentury.com
https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/2017_dbir.pdf
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