It’s worth remembering that we all have some responsibility for keeping our online accounts secure. Recent surveys show that we don’t really appreciate just how vulnerable we make ourselves by using inadequate password protection.

There’s a funny saying – “Treat your passwords like your underwear – change them often, don’t share them and don’t leave them lying around”. Never has it been more accurate than today. Old passwords are easier to crack, sharing them across accounts means that once a hacker’s cracked your password, they’ve cracked a lot more of your life than you’d like. If your passwords are easy to remember, they are easy to hack. Birthdays, keyboard runs (like QWERTY), digit-only or letter-only – these are all too easy. If you’re worried that you can’t remember all your passwords think about using a password safe and make use of 2FA where it’s offered.

Use two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is an additional layer of protection beyond your password. It works, for example, by sending a security code to your mobile phone when you sign in to one of your accounts – you can’t access the account until you’ve put in both factors – the password and the code. It significantly reduces the risk of a hacker accessing banking, shopping, social media and other accounts. It’s available on most major websites. Find out more at Pixel Privacy.