Don’t trust basic 12345 password to protect you

It’s time to get serious about online data security

If any of your online passwords are 12345, password, or 12345, go give yourself 1,000 lashings with a wet noodle, and then go change that password. Seriously, guys. NordPass recently released its annual list of the 200 most common passwords, and the results have got us shaking our heads.

According to Mashable, NordPass compiled the list based on how many times a password was used and how long it would take to be hacked.

“In the U.S., with the exception of ‘qwerty,’ the 10 most common passwords are mostly a variation of the numbers one through 10, or, simply, ‘password.’ Perhaps this explains why our country is in the highest tier of passwords leaked per capita, according to NordPass’s research,” Mashable reports.

The top 200 list included iloveyou, sunshine, monkey, princess, baseball, dragon, football, shadow, freedom, cookie and babygirl – words and phrases that would be easy to guess.

Readers, online security matters.

If someone hacks your accounts online, the results can be devastating. It can be a matter of unauthorized charges on your credit card, or it could lead to identity theft. Unraveling any of those scenarios is an absolute nightmare.

Don’t make it easy on the hacker. A secure password protects your information, including your personal emails, files and financial data.

Here are a few points to remember:

• Make your password unique – and make sure you use a different password on every site you visit. One tip we liked was using favorite song lyrics. For example, if you are a Beatles fan, pick your favorite lyric: “HerecomesthesunAndIsayitsallright.” Or, use a mixture of letters, numbers and punctuation symbols, or use a password generator to create very unique passwords on each of your accounts.

• Avoid using personal information or common words in your password

• Use a password manager app like LastPass to help keep your passwords organized

Keeping data secure on the internet is one of the biggest challenges we face. But it is manageable, if we take the time to do it right.

Don’t get snagged in a hacker nightmare. Take control of your online presence, and eliminate those easy-to-hack passwords.

Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.