In observance of the annual World Password Day which occurred on 7 May, McAfee, part of Intel Security, and its partners are leading an effort to help educate consumers worldwide on the importance of password safety in the wake of the multiple global security breaches.
Consumers are encouraged to take the World Password Day pledge to change or strengthen their passwords by using the newly launched Web site, a dedicated destination for password education, powered by Intel Security.
Ninety percent of all passwords are vulnerable to being hacked. In the wake of recent high-profile data breaches, it is important now more than ever for consumers to be vigilant about strengthening and changing their passwords to protect their personal information.
Last year, more than 170 organisations supported World Password Day by sharing password safety messages.
Over 1-million passwords were assessed and 32 000 people took the pledge to strengthen their passwords. This year, McAfee along with Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Terra, UOL, CCE, Windstream, PositivoInformática’s Digital Business Area and others are encouraging consumers once again to take the time to educate themselves about password safety and be more proactive about securing their personal information.
To accompany World Password Day, consumers can now visit Passwordday.org to learn more about password safety. The site includes features such as, a password blaster web video game, password strength meter, McAfee’s Heartbleedbug checkertool, animated educational slideshow, tips and tricks for upgrading passwords, and the Official World Password Day pledge.
“Security breaches large and small are becoming rampant across the world, so consumers need to be aware of just how important it is to use multiple strong passwords,” says Michelle Dennedy, chief privacy officer at McAfee, part of Intel Security.
“Our goal in conjunction with this World Password Day is to educate consumers on ways they can proactively protect their identities, and other personal information and assets, through a series of simple steps.”
Simple tips for password protection:
* Choose length versus complexity (use 14+ characters);
* Use a password manager;
* Change passwords regularly;
* Use different passwords for bank, e-mail and other sites;
* Use case-sensitive alphanumerics;
* Don’t use any dates or facts that can be found online;
* Don’t text, e-mail or casually share your passwords;
* Don’t use simple passwords (123456, password, qwerty and so on); and
* Don’t use one word passwords.