Everyone knows the words of those who have few concerns about their online identity: “They can’t get anything from me anyway.” Or: “My data is not of interest to anyone.”
Precisely this kind of carelessness can be a severe mistake with personal passwords. Not only is the prospect of lucrative booty attractive for cybercriminals but the favorable opportunity.
Every insecure password is such an opportunity. With stolen data, uninvited guests can sometimes steal their identity. For example, they can open user accounts and place orders on your behalf.
Image credit: Mikhail Nilov
A secure password for every online service is indispensable, even if your Email, Amazon, or Facebook account does not contain any sensitive data at first glance.
Unique passwords and single sign-on
Only a few users heed the basic password security rules: long, complex combinations of characters in random order. After all, it is difficult to remember them yourself.
On the negative hit list of the most widespread passwords, you will therefore find catastrophic security phrases such as “hello,” “123456,” or only “password.” All of them are hardly suitable for making life particularly difficult for hackers. It would help if you also avoided PINs and passwords that consist of parts of your name or date of birth, telephone number, or ZIP Code.
Tip: Use the first letters of word sequences such as “Chocolate for breakfast” = CB. It would help if you also changed your PIN at regular intervals.
Be careful with autocompletion
Today, many online shops and platforms offer the option of logging in without specific registration with the Facebook, Google, or Twitter account. That is the so-called Single Sign-On (SSO). And it is convenient because the existing user account serves as a master key for other offers.
But be careful: The SSO provider (Facebook, for example) also receives a lot of information about you. Theoretically, he has access to all your activities on the pages you have connected to through your user accounts, such as searching entries or purchases. With this knowledge, the provider fills out your online profile to show you more relevant product ads in the future.
A man pays online with a credit card
An overview in your online banking also shows you at any time when you registered with which site. It makes it easier for you to manage your registrations actively. If you no longer need one of the linked pages, you can, for example, ask the company to delete your data and remove the connected account. You always have an overview and control.
The most important thing about password security
Long passwords are generally more secure than short ones. Your password should not be just a simple combination of words, a logical sequence of numbers, a series of letters, or a keyboard pattern.
Names, dates of birth, and other information that third parties can easily understand are taboo when assigning a password. Do not write down passwords digitally on your PC or other electronic devices.
Protect yourself from prying eyes when you enter your passwords. In this way, you can prevent those present from reading along and misusing your data. Passwords for single sign-on (SSO) – i.e., login data that allow centralized access to several applications – should be incredibly secure. Also, pay attention to what platform you will enable this type of public key to be. The savings banks offer their identity service that enables fast and secure online data transmission.
Pay attention to safety in the entire area
As with many other online banking providers, the PIN usually has five digits. Further security measures include limiting the number of unsuccessful attempts to enter the PIN and the use of TANs for executing banking orders. Banks also have an infrastructure that meets the highest security standards.
To protect you and your data even more, the savings banks work with a technology called two-factor authentication or two-factor authentication. Your identity as a user will only confirm if you provide two independent devices.
Regardless of the PIN, you should also ensure the security of the device you use for your online banking. It includes current software and browser versions as well as virus protection programs, if applicable.