{"id":497449,"date":"2023-07-05T11:09:20","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T09:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=497449"},"modified":"2023-07-05T11:10:43","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T09:10:43","slug":"apps-to-avoid-endless-password-resets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/497449-apps-to-avoid-endless-password-resets.html","title":{"rendered":"Apps to avoid endless password resets"},"content":{"rendered":"

South African online users will find many apps available to help them store and retrieve large collections of passwords for their apps and website accounts.<\/p>\n

Security researchers have long emphasised the importance of using unique, long, and complex passwords with multiple types of characters to minimise the risk of an attacker cracking them.<\/p>\n

Aside from breaking into company systems and phishing users for their details, cyberattackers use a method called “brute force” to work out passwords.<\/p>\n

As explained<\/strong><\/a> by cybersecurity company Fortinet, this involves a process of trial and error where an attacker runs multiple usernames and passwords through a computer until they come up with the right login credentials.<\/p>\n

To simplify the process, hackers often use people’s leaked email addresses or usernames exposed in data breaches, so they only have to work out the password.<\/p>\n

They also use dictionaries of common words and passwords to speed up the attack.<\/p>\n

Hive Systems has published a table<\/strong><\/a> showing how long an attacker would take to brute force your password based on the number and complexity of characters.<\/p>\n

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Credit: https:\/\/www.hivesystems.io\/password<\/p><\/div>\n

The data above shows that you should have at least a 12-character password using a combination of numbers and uppercase and lowercase letters.<\/p>\n

Using current computer processing power and techniques, that password should take at least 53 years to crack.<\/p>\n

However, this assumes an attacker using twelve high-budget Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 consumer graphics cards. Attackers with a bigger hardware budget could crack such passwords in less time.<\/p>\n

When it comes to most passwords, a good rule of thumb is that they should be so advanced that even if a criminal were to point a gun at your head and demand to know them, you shouldn’t be able to do so.<\/p>\n

However, the problem with having a very complex password is that it would also be much harder to remember.<\/p>\n

This is where password managers come into the picture.<\/p>\n

Reputable password managers use encryption to securely store your credentials for multiple websites and apps in a digital “vault”.<\/p>\n

With zero-knowledge architecture, not even password managers know the information stored in your vault.<\/p>\n

Instead of remembering numerous passwords, you will only have to remember one \u2014 the master password for the manager.<\/p>\n

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Editorial credit: T. Schneider \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Alongside the information you store in your vault, your password is encrypted on your device before being sent to the particular service’s server.<\/p>\n

That means that even if an attacker breached your vault, it could take them trillions of years to decipher it.<\/p>\n

Certain managers also feature additional security layers like two-factor authentication (2FA) and biometric access.<\/p>\n

Password managers can also feature tools that check whether your credentials may have been compromised in a data breach and warn users to change their passwords if this is the case.<\/p>\n

Another new feature that password managers are gradually adopting is passkeys.<\/p>\n

This relatively new form of login credential ties the user’s account to specific devices.<\/p>\n

Generating new passkeys for additional devices requires scanning a QR code on an authenticated device and providing registered biometrics like a fingerprint or facial scan for approval.<\/p>\n

Several solid options to choose from<\/h2>\n

We have assembled a list of eight reputable password managers to help securely store your credentials, avoiding the need to write them down or constantly having to reset forgotten passwords.<\/p>\n

One of the popular providers we have excluded from this list is LastPass.<\/p>\n

The company suffered two data breaches in 2022, highlighting concerns over its security practices.<\/p>\n

Many browsers \u2014 including Chrome \u2014 also offer free built-in password managers that you can consider. Apple also offers a password manager across its ecosystem, including Mac and iOS.<\/p>\n

However, that will lock you into an operating system or browser, whereas third-party password managers usually support a wide range of browsers and platforms.<\/p>\n

Below are some of the leading password managers on the market.<\/p>\n

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1Password<\/h2>\n