Should you change your passwords frequently?

Changing your password on a fixed basis would prevent a hacker from having too much time to peruse your information.

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The little pop-up box that reminds us that it will soon be time to say goodbye to your password within 'n’ number of days is often a cause of discomfort for a number of folks out there. Increased cyber threats are enough of a reason to take a moment to think about password changes.

 

Why you should change your password

Why you should change your password

Changing your password on a fixed basis would prevent a hacker from having too much time to peruse your information.

Even if your details have been shared with others, it will only be useful till your next password change.

A Carleton University paper explained that hackers in possession of a hashed password file which lets them test a variety of passwords within a short duration of time. This foreshadows danger to weak or medium-strength passwords.

How often you should change your password
 

How often you should change your password

The next bit of often-repeated seldom-followed information will make passwords at least a measly bit stronger

1) Combine letters and numbers.

2) A mix of uppercase and lowercase letters must be used.

3) The presence of special characters will make it stronger.

4) The password must not be shorter than 12 characters.

It is quite easy to create a random series of characters which tick all the boxes.

But remembering them easily is quite a different ballgame.

This is where laziness gets the better of people and they start using the same word at the core and start modifying a single number or character I their password. This is certainly the easiest way to not forget your password when you reset it every month.

SEE ALSO: Flipkart stops working: App and website both down

Should you change your password?

Should you change your password?

From what we have seen so far, it's fairly safe to conclude that a time-tested password is not exactly a bad thing.

But if you believe someone has access to your banking credentials or if you've been spied on, or if a situation arose where you had to lend your password to someone, it is prudent that you go ahead and choose another hard-to-guess series of letters and numbers to guard your secrets.

Forced password resets

Forced password resets

Resets put to effect by apps and employers are not effective at facing down threats which password compromises gives rise to, there are still a good amount of threats that frequent password changes will be unable to affect.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology reaffirmed the same in 2009.

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