Hackers celebrate with every weak password they encounter

VIP LOUNGE

CLOUD LOGIN

You are here: News > News > Hackers celebrate with every weak password they encounter

» IT Security NEWS

» 01 April 2010

Hackers celebrate with every weak password they encounter

According to the latest survey conducted by Symantec, about 23 percent of the online users utilize their web browsers in order to keep tabs on their passwords.

Users’ slip-ups regarding security codes

Symantec contracted about 400 respondents for this specific investigation. And, 60 percent of the total surveyed users disclosed that they do not change their passwords from time to time. This deviates from the common rule that passwords are to be changed habitually and these should be kept secret from other.

In addition to this research, it was found out that about one-fourth of the online users disclose their passwords to their other half. On the other hand, 1 in every 10 users shares their account passwords to their friends.

Making use of easy-to-guess password is a failure

It is a bit disheartening to admit that a user’s preference when creating a password is considered to be dreadful. There were about 12 respondents who revealed that they already tried using “password” as their secret code. And, one in ten used their pet’s name as a password. It is very easy to identify a password when it is named after the user’s pet since this can be found in the target’s account in a social networking service.

It was discovered through this study that there are 8 percent of the total of respondents who use same passwords for all their accounts on different websites. This can be very disadvantageous since online criminals may have greater chance of accessing more important webmail and online banking accounts.

Those who know a lot appears to know less

Readers from the blog created by Symantec’s Security Response acted as the respondents of the study. These online users are considered as the ones who have higher level of understanding with regards to web security. However, it was evident in this study that even these web enthusiasts commit the most common errors in view of password security.

Upon completion of the survey, Symantec put the results together with a list of ideas that can help users when choosing for the perfect password. This is probably the simplest way of acquiring security but is always left unnoticed to many users.

The web security service suggests that the most beneficial principle when creating a password is the use of a combination of characters such as numbers, letters, punctuation marks, and other symbols.

One may use an unforgettable phrase and each of the letters may be swapped with other forms of characters. Another recommendation from Symantec is that web users must not use any confidential data as their secret code in their various accounts. Using of same passwords in different sites should also be evaded.

Browse through the website to know more about SecPoint and the services being offered: SecPoint Press, SecPoint Awards, and SecPoint Products.