PASSWORD CREATION BEST PRACTICES TUTORIAL

Many people are reluctant to change their passwords because of the fear of forgetting them or the hassle of having to enter a complex password every time they want to access their account. However, it is important to note that if accounts fall into the hands of unscrupulous people, the security of the information will be compromised and there is a high risk of losing valuable data. To raise awareness about this issue, let's put ourselves in a hypothetical situation where a third party takes over your account and consider what could happen:

In your email (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo):

• Deletion of information: loss of emails, documents, photos and other files. The third party could have access to classified or confidential information.
• Sending fake emails in your name: this could damage your reputation, in addition to sending viruses or other malicious content.
• Access to your social networks: let's not forget that creating a profile on a social network requires an email address.
• Access to your electronic payment accounts: as in the case of social networks, email accounts are usually associated with these platforms. Just thinking about it gives you chills.

On one or more social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn):

• Modification of your profile with a fake one.
• Loss of followers or fans.
• Loss of content, such as photos, notes or comments in which you have invested time.
• Inability to recover the account, which would force you to create a new one. profile.

In your electronic payment method (PayPal, Mercado Pago, Dinero Mail):

• Use of all the funds in your account for the economic benefit of the third party, which would imply that you must assume the charges.
• Banking problems.
• Financial commitments for months.

After knowing some of the consequences that could arise from losing control of your password, if you still do not If you become aware of the importance of this issue, it may be time to consider visiting a psychologist. On the contrary, if you value this information, here is a tutorial on how to create strong passwords for your web applications.

To create a strong password, keep the following points in mind:

• Do not use the same password for all your accounts.
• The password must be at least 10 characters.
• Avoid including your username (nick) or your real name in the password.
• When creating your password, use a combination of the following elements:
  • Capital letters (A, B, C, D, E, etc.).
  • Lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, e, etc.).
  • Numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).
  • Keyboard characters or symbols ("#$%&/+*-¡!|").
  • Spaces (if applicable). that the application allows it and you want to use more than one word).

By following these tips, you will have a very secure password and anyone with bad intentions will give up due to its complexity. However, you may be wondering how to remember it. Below, I present a practical case to alleviate this task using references:

Select an object close to your work environment, such as audio equipment, and describe it in two or three words.

Example: Audio equipment

Composition of the password: 3qu!p0 @UD!o

Explanation:

• The capital "E" of the word "Team" is replaced by a "3" because the number "3" resembles the capital "E" inverted horizontally.
• The "i" in the word "Team" is changed to an exclamation point, that is, a vertically inverted "i."
• The "o" in the word "Team" is replaced by a "0" (zero).
• A space is left in the middle to keep two words.
• The "a" in the word "audio" is replaced by the at sign ("@"), which resembles an "a" with a curler.
• The letters "ud" in the word "audio" are converted to uppercase ("UD").
• Finally, the "i" in the word "audio" is inverted and another exclamation point is added.

Note that I used uppercase, lowercase, numbers and signs to create a very secure password. Although in the field of computing there is no absolute security, as has been evidenced in numerous cases of large entities with advanced security systems, at least the chances of being hacked are considerably reduced.

There are other practical cases in which you can use references, such as looking at a painting and getting two words about the highlight (for example, "water" and "horse") and composing the password. Use your creativity and share your experiences and advice in the comments.

Remember that the security of your passwords is essential to protect your personal information and avoid possible problems.