The Technology Man

Technology Reviews

  • Home
  • Product Reviews
  • How-to Guides
  • Tips & Tricks
  • YouTube
  • About Me

All you need to know about passwords

10th September 2014 By Gidon Leave a Comment

Password login

Passwords have always been a source of frustration but it’s worse than ever now with the average user having to remember at least 10 web logins. And gone are the days where you could use the name of your first pet or your mother’s maiden name. I used to shudder when a website asked me to change my password – to something I’d not used before!

And rarely can you get away with just adding an extra digit. More likely you’ll have to capitalise a letter or add a symbol which makes the password you’ve had for years instantly forgettable!

It’s best to come up with a password yourself rather than appending various characters and digits to an existing old password. This is very hard to remember.

Choosing a strong password

Password on a Post-it note

My advice is to try and use a strong password for your important online accounts like email and online banking. It’s painful but these need to be different. For your other sites like clothing stores for example, just ensure the password you use is different to the one used for your important accounts.

But how do you choose a strong password and how do you remember it? Dealing with the latter first, there’s nothing wrong with writing it down but try and keep it in a secret place!

One idea for a secure password is to choose a phrase that only you know and adding a capital letter and number. You can include spaces in this.

For example: It was sunny when I got married in 2002.

You can check how well you’ve done by using Microsoft’s password checker:

https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx

Password managers

Personally I use a password manager which is software that runs on my computers, smartphone and tablet and relies on a very secure master password. It can then generate and remember random secure passwords for all your web logins and will encrypt these with your master password. It’s very convenient too since the software bookmarks your favourite sites and will automatically direct you to the site and log you in. I’ve used a program called Roboform for almost 8 years and can recommend it – in fact I’d be in trouble without it!

Keep your security information up to date

Protect your Microsoft account

As a final note it’s also important to setup your password recovery options, especially with your email accounts. If you get locked out, this offers a way of getting back into your account. For a Hotmail account, visit https://account.live.com and click Edit Security Info. You can also turn on 2-way authentication for Hotmail and Gmail which reduces the chance of your account getting hijacked. I use this now with the free Google Authenticator smartphone app. This links your phone to your account and gives you an additional pin number or token that changes regularly but can be read straight off your phone.

Related

Filed Under: How-to Guides, Tips & Tricks

You must log in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow me on social media

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Local Amazon store
As an Amazon affiliate, I get a small fee from any purchases made using the above ad. You can also visit my Amazon store with all the recent tech I've reviewed in one place: UK, US.

About the site

Gidon’s obsession with technology began at an early age with a BBC B Micro computer. After working for 12 years at British Telecom travelling around the world as a technology researcher he opened a technology retail store in Tavistock in Devon, selling the latest tech and offering IT services to residential and business customers. Read More…

Popular articles

  • Jackery Explorer 500, Bluetti AC50S review | Best 500Wh power station? | SolarSaga 100, Bluetti SP120 solar panels
  • Mingda Magician X review | The perfect beginner 3D printer?
  • Can the new breed of office inkjet printers replace a laser printer? Canon MAXIFY MB2350 versus HP LaserJet Pro M451DN
  • iPhone 6 Plus versus Canon’s G7X. Is the iPhone’s camera all you need?
  • Asus VivoBook Pro N552VX Laptop Review
  • GoPro Hero 5 Black Review – the Goldilocks of the GoPro action camera range?
  • Could this be the best budget drone? Hubsan H507A X4 Star Pro review.
  • LG TONE Free FN7 Noise Cancelling Earbuds Review | vs Apple AirPods Pro. Sound, ANC and call quality mic tests
  • The gaming console your may already own. Using you PC for gaming. Part 2.
  • Insta360 GO 2 review | vs GoPro Hero 9 | Test footage | Mic tests
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in