How to make your passwords more secure

Bulletproof your passwords article

If you're looking for a cross-platform, cross-browser manager, we can thoroughly recommend LastPass.com. It's free for desktop use and $1 a month covers all mobile app access on most platforms, plus it's random-password generator means every password you use will be different.

Bulletproof your passwords article

If one miserly dollar a month is too much then try the free open-source KeePass.info; it's excellent, and mobile apps are available, but you'll need to manage the transfers of the vault file yourself.

Even with a password manager we'd still advise you not to store financial account details on it or even your primary email details, as loss of your vault password would open up all of your passwords.

3. Create stronger passwords

Some sites limit password length to 12 characters. Annoying! For ones that don't, www.xkpasswd.net, inspired by the XKCD cartoon, generates long, memorable passwords, and can throw in the curve ball of numbers, characters, capitalisation and padding as you see fit.

4. Verify-only email accounts

Using layers of security is a good way of working.

If you can place separation between 'unimportant' sign-ups - such as that forum you can't mention to your partner - and sensitive services, such as your bank accounts, all the better.

Use an extra email account to register for forums and the like. If these should get hacked or compromised it'll be far harder to trace any password, username or any personal information to anything else that could be more important.

Similarly, consider using personally-identifiable services such as social networks on yet another email account. While perhaps not as sensitive as such, hacked accounts can cause real-life headaches and provide hackers with personally-identifiable details.

5. Ring-fence vital services

Many of these problems come from us being human and succumbing to laziness.

In a way, pretending that we're never going to be lazy doesn't help, but should certainly mitigate this lazy behaviour.

At the absolute minimum, try and ring-fence your behaviour when it comes to vital financial institutes and your primary email. Use unique and complex password for each.

To a degree, many banks have cut-out laziness and enforced TFA solutions, so it's a mute point. Even Google offers TFA for its accounts and you should consider activating this if it's your primary email, as it's your last line of defence.

Latest in Security
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
GitLab has patched a host of worrying security issues
Ai tech, businessman show virtual graphic Global Internet connect Chatgpt Chat with AI, Artificial Intelligence.
AI agents can be hijacked to write and send phishing attacks
China
Volt Typhoon threat group had access to American utility networks for the best part of a year
Abstract image of cyber security in action.
MassJacker malware targets those looking for pirated software
Latest in News
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight