When was the last time that you had or even thought about having your passwords changed and updated? Let’s face it, we are in the age where most of us have at least three online accounts – most often, recycling the same passwords. So, how safe are our personal information, really?
International software security groups, Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, did a study recently showing less than fantastic statistics of having at least one in every four online accounts being hacked in just the past 12 months.
While one may think that it’s common sense to update account passwords regularly, in this case, common sense may not be so common after all. Studies confirm that less than half (38% to be precise) of the Internet community would go through the hassle of creating strong passwords and a majority would fail to practice safe habits when storing passwords.
One may take this lightly, however, what the survey reveals may change the minds of any sound person. It was reported that of the accounts which hackers would usually target, 11% are of email accounts with its contender being social media networks sharing the same percentage, and 7% of which are online banking and shopping accounts.
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Needless to state, that a vast majority of reported incidents would be the resulted loss of personal details and stolen identities by thieves. Amongst reported cases of unsolicited messages, perpetrators fishing for personal information, and passwords; 26% of the stolen data were reported to be subsequently used in criminal activities.
We all know the drill – change your passwords at regular intervals, keep your passwords personal, do not share unnecessary information with strangers, store your passwords in safe places. However, the same incidents are repeatedly reported.
Elena Kharchenko, Kaspersky Labs’ Head of Consumer Product Management cites that:
“[p]asswords are the digital ‘you’: and your accounts rely on them to ensure it’s really you they are giving access to. There is simply too much at stake for anyone to be casual about passwords.”
We all share the same sentiment and fear of losing or confusing our numerous accounts which should, by god, come in unique passwords. In this relation, Kaspersky Lab attempts to solve this problem by providing a security solution, Kaspersky Total Security – Multi-Device which boasts of its Kaspersky Password Manager module.
It appears that this nifty programme seeks to help users to securely store their passwords and identity forms, which at the same time synchronizes the many gadgets that a 21st-century dweller would own. The user can then easily log on to his/her account automatically.
