{"id":565930,"date":"2024-10-21T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=565930"},"modified":"2024-10-21T12:06:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:06:48","slug":"goodbye-forgotten-passwords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/565930-goodbye-forgotten-passwords.html","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye forgotten passwords"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many password managers can help South Africans keep track of the numerous login credentials needed to access a wide range of useful online services, apps, and websites with user accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity researchers blame weak passwords<\/a> as the cause of about 80% of all data breaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people choose these passwords because they are easier to remember, and they don’t want the hassle of resetting a forgotten password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, that also makes them more susceptible to attackers trying to gain access to your account or data through brute-force and password spraying attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These attacks automatically generate and input passwords into account login pages to try and guess the right one through a process of elimination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid this possibility, Microsoft Support recommends that passwords for any online services should be at least 12 characters long, although 14 or more is better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, passwords should consist of a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also advised against words that can be found in a dictionary or those used for the names of persons, characters, products, or organisations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this advice is essential for lowering the likelihood of a malicious party figuring out your password, but it also makes it far more difficult for you to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also a bad idea to use the same password \u2014 no matter how complex \u2014 for multiple websites or platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey by Nordpass has shown that the average person had 168 login credentials with passwords in April 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memorising all your passwords \u2014 particularly if they are over 14 characters long and complex \u2014 would be a near superhuman achievement, not to mention remembering where they need to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storing your passwords in a physical text document or in an unsecured app on your phone could expose it to a thief who got hold of your device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, there is software designed specifically for storing all your login credentials securely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A password manager not only keeps all your passwords in one place, it syncs across devices and browsers to allow you to autofill the correct passwords on the right platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of remembering numerous passwords, you need only one “master” password to access your password manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leading options also have multi-factor authentication (MFA), like authenticator apps or passkeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These provide additional security barriers, making it far tougher for a malicious attacker who obtains your master password to access your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While putting all your eggs in one basket might seem risky, cybersecurity experts generally agree that reputed cloud-based password managers are safe to use and the most secure way to store your passwords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To protect your data, most password managers use the advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm with a 256-bit implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AES-256 encryption is regarded as “military-grade” and was first adopted by the US federal government to protect classified data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, there are no confirmed instances of this form of encryption being cracked \u2014 either through brute-force attacks or other techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to current calculations, it would take millions of years for existing computers to crack AES-256 with existing processing power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most important password manager features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aside from encryption, the most important features to consider when it comes to picking a password manager are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n