Has Your Email Been Breached?

[Verdinut]

Here s a link for verifying your email security:

haveibeenpwned.com

A good recommendation is to change our passwords frequently. Passwords should be at least 8 characters or longer.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

A good recommendation is to change our passwords frequently. Passwords should be at least 8 characters or longer.

Strongly disagree with this. Passwords should be at least 12 characters or longer and DO not require special characters.
Most importantly - DO NOT REUSE YOUR PASSWORDS across different sites!!!
Here are actual NIST Password recommendations (hint: frequent changing passwords is NOT recommended)

NIST Password Guidelines 2024 | AuditBoard

Create passwords that will protect confidential data and prevent cyberattacks by following these updated guidelines for password creation and implementation best practices by the NIST.

www.auditboard.com

And Of course, there is XKCD for this, which is both amusing and accurate:

 

[highfigh]

I found this site after a virus and when I tried some passwords, I found one that would require 23 million hours. Just before copying the link, I tried one and it showed that it would take a computer 53 million years to crack it. They weren't terribly long passwords, either.

How Secure Is My Password? | Password Strength Checker

Passwords are the bloodline of data and online security, but our research on the password habits in the U.S. shows that less than half of Americans feel

www.security.org

 

[Verdinut]

Strongly disagree with this. Passwords should be at least 12 characters or longer and DO not require special characters.
Most importantly - DO NOT REUSE YOUR PASSWORDS across different sites!!!
Here are actual NIST Password recommendations (hint: frequent changing passwords is NOT recommended)

NIST Password Guidelines 2024 | AuditBoard

Create passwords that will protect confidential data and prevent cyberattacks by following these updated guidelines for password creation and implementation best practices by the NIST.

www.auditboard.com

And Of course, there is XKCD for this, which is both amusing and accurate:

What is wrong with using special characters? Also, changing passwords frequently is a good thing when someone else has access to your computer. It could be a relative or a even a friend.
Also, a good password manager is recommended when you have many websites registered in to.

 

[Trell]

What is wrong with using special characters? Also, changing passwords frequently is a good thing when someone else has access to your computer. It could be a relative or a even a friend.
Also, a good password manager is recommended when you have many websites register in to.

Frequently changing your passwords leads to worse quality passwords because you’ll have to remember them. Microsoft has changed their recommend password policy on this regard.

Special characters can be a practical issue of typing them on some keyboards (language).

 

[mtrycrafts]

VPN is mentioned in one of the links.
Only problem with that is internet speed. I checked and reduced it by about 75% for me. So, I use it infrequently.

 

[Verdinut]

Frequently changing your passwords leads to worse quality passwords because you’ll have to remember them. Microsoft has changed their recommend password policy on this regard.

Special characters can be a practical issue of typing them on some keyboards (language).

If you use a password manager, you don't have to remember any. Your PW manager generates complex passwords. I am currently using the Firefox password manager.

Another one which I recommend is the one offered by Malwarebytes, a very trustworthy anti-malware software company. I have been using their Premium anti-malware and antivirus product for many years with excellent satisfaction. Also, their Browser Guard is very effective. It blocks ads, scams and trackers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

My point is for the password to be secure, it has to be longer than 8 characters, 12 minimum. Special characters don't make it any more secure, but not less secure either. I'm using a password manager too, and special characters aren't the issue for me, but they are much harder to remember if you only rely on memory.
Frequent password rotation forces bad habits such as old password - "password1" becoming new password "password2". This is not improving security but makes it worse. Also, when using Windows-based (Active Director) systems, old passwords are stored for a long time, and the more old passwords are stored for the user, the easier it is to crack the password.

 

[Trell]

If you use a password manager, you don't have to remember any. Your PW manager generates complex passwords. I am currently using the Firefox password manager.

Another one which I recommend is the one offered by Malwarebytes, a very trustworthy anti-malware software company. I have been using their Premium anti-malware and antivirus product for many years with excellent satisfaction. Also, their Browser Guard is very effective. It blocks ads, scams and trackers.

Password manager won’t work for login on my PC. I do use a password manager for some sites but not all.