Bumping Cybersecurity for Online Accounts

Even though it doesn’t get highly reported, a lot of people get their accounts hacked online. It is possible
that your account’s password could have been revealed to a hacker even though you still have access to
your account.

Hackers typically hijack several accounts at once so they can sell them on the dark web. A lot of money
is present in the account-buying market. A person who has stuck to the same password for a very long
time has likely gotten some accounts’ login credentials breached.

There are three significant ways cybercriminals try to hack accounts. They are:

• Brute-Force: This involves attempting to hack an account by trying different combinations in a short amount of time. Brute-force attacks are usually successful when your password is short or has been reused on your other accounts.
• Dictionary Attack: A dictionary attack is similar to a brute-force attack in the sense that it tries to guess your password. However, the main difference is that it uses pre-arranged combinations of words. If your password is easy to guess, you could get hacked this way.
• Phishing: Hackers who use phishing need a web page builder to create a very similar page to a genuine page. When a phishing email is sent to an individual, it evokes a panicked response, allowing the victim to abandon all sense of caution. When the details are fixed into the fake page, they get sent to the hacker.

Increasing Online Account Cybersecurity

1. Create a Strong Password
   If your password is anything less than 12 characters long, your account is vulnerable to attack. Your password also doesn’t need to have a meaning in the vocabulary.
   
   For instance, guessing ‘teu$P)2HA@@zIm’ is way more complex than ‘Richard1994’. The passcode you choose has to combine uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers.
   
   It would help if you also practiced good password cybersecurity. Avoid giving out your password to even your close friends.

2. Get a Password Manager
   You probably have tens of online accounts. Remembering complicated passwords like the example given in the previous point is impractical. However, you still can’t do something like writing down your passcode somewhere because it reduces your cybersecurity level.
   
   The solution to this is using a password management service. Password managers stock your passwords in a single account. You’ll have to remember the master password to get into the account. Password managers can also aid you in creating robust passwords.

3. Get a Password-Protection Network Tool
   If you’re generating robust passwords and your activity is getting spied on, it defeats the whole purpose. The best password-protection network tool is a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
   
   A VPN encrypts internet activity to keep out all forms of snooping from hackers, the government, and your internet service provider. When you secure your network with a VPN, no entity would be able to decipher your account’s passwords.

4. Be Careful of Phishing
   Start by avoiding emails from senders you don’t know. If you think the sending address is familiar, open the email. Phishing emails typically entice you into taking urgent action, so you’ll have to look out for
   that too.
   
   Before you click any links in emails, hover above them to check the landing URL address. If the address is different from the website you know, mark the email as spam.

Final Thoughts

Cybercriminals love to target online account passwords because they’re in demand. An infringement of your account’s credentials could spell disaster for you.

To bump cybersecurity for your online account, you need to use a resilient password and a network security tool. You can also subscribe to a password management service and watch out for phishing techniques.

You may also want to see our comprehensive list of online security articles and reports to help you keep safe online.

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