Synagex celebrates #ChangeYourPasswordDay with some helpful statistics and tips!
When was the last time you audited your passwords? "Change Your Password Day" is a great unofficial reminder to review your current passwords, and change any that you've been using for too long. Here's some signs you need to change your password:
You can't remember when you last changed it.
You are re-using it on another account.
You have shared it with someone at some point.
You have realized you're using weak password(s)
How do you know a password is weak?
These charts show password strength against being hacked through brute force. The range of password length and complexity is compared to the time it would take to hack that password through brute force.
Generally, the longer your password is, and the more complex it is, then the stronger it is. Password complexity is determined by the use different types of text characters—numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and symbols. As you can see, using all 4 these character types yields the most fortified password.
Let's take a closer look—notice how a password of 8 characters that has all the complexity of numbers, upper & lowercase letters AND symbols can still be hacked in under 40 minutes?! This is why length is also an important factor when creating strong passwords, and brings to attention a really important issue to keep in mind:
❗You can actually meet many minimum password complexity requirements when creating new passwords... and still be left with a pretty WEAK password❗
Have strong passwords, but still due for an update?
If you are due for a password update, we recommend to create new passwords of 15+ characters... and go crazy with complexity.
To put it simply, the longer and more complex your password is... the more IMPOSSIBLE it becomes to hack it!
"Changing your password does not mean just adding 1 to the end of your current password".
Now, let's say you have a 15+ character complex password already... great job! However, when you change it, it is very important that you are not just simply adding 1 to the end of what you currently have—this kind of defeats the whole point of changing it! In this video, our VP of Operations, Leah, reminds us of this, and also shares some strong password tips that you DO want to implement.
Happy password changing, folks!
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