Articles tagged: passwords

Password Frustration

How Do I Recover My Outlook Account?

Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Microsoft account compromise and loss happens. Here’s how to get your account back depending on what happened to it.

Login and password

Tip of the Day: Never Send Your Password via Email

Login

Tip of the Day: Use a Different Password for Every Site

Moleskin notebook with notes.

No, Don’t Write Down Passwords

The world’s largest magazine dispensed some bad tech advice. Here’s why I so strongly disagree.

One kind of dictionary.

What’s a Dictionary Attack?

A dictionary attack is a common brute-force way of achieving a hacker’s goal. The goal of a dictionary attack could range from compromising your system to sending spam.

a passphrase as good as a password?

How Can Four Random Words Possibly Be More Secure Than 16 Random Characters?

Passphrases are just as secure as passwords — perhaps even more so — and are easier to remember if needed.

Two Factor Authentication

Why ANY Two-Factor Is Better than No Two-Factor

Headlines are proclaiming that two-factor authentication has been hacked. That in no way means you shouldn’t use it. Your account is still much safer with two-factor enabled.

No more passwords?

What Is a Passkey?

Passkeys are a new form of authentication that promise to be both easier and more secure.

Extracting a Password

Why Is It Important to Have Different Passwords on Different Accounts?

Using a different password for every login is crucial — and it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Password list

Your 6 Strongest Practical Password Techniques, Ranked

Six practical approaches to generating passwords, ranked from best to worst.

Hacked!

12 Steps to Keep from Getting Your Account Hacked

Here are the steps you need to take to prevent losing your account forever to a hacker.

A Hacker on TV

How Tech Mistakes in Media Harm Us All

Please don’t base your understanding of technology on what you see in TV and movies.

A password in notepad.

Tip of the Day: Use Notepad For Passwords

LastPass Password Manager

LastPass Password Manager and Vault

One of the challenges with current online safety advice is keeping track of multiple different secure passwords. LastPass not only does that, but does it securely across multiple devices.

Password Entry

I’m Told to Change My Password. Why?

If you’ve been told to change your password, do so, but do so in the right way. I’ll explain what that means and why it’s important.

Secure Your Account -- Please

Why Your “Unimportant” Accounts Matter

Regardless of your initial thoughts, every account is important, and we are all targets.

No Password!

Is Passwordless Authentication Safe?

Passwordless authentication removes the need for a password and replaces it with something else. But can that be secure?

Three Random Words

Do Random Words Make Better Passwords?

As few as three random words make better passwords than strings of random characters — but not, perhaps, for the reasons you think.

Massive Data Breach

A Data Breach Has My Data. What Do I Do?

Another day, another breach. What should you do if you’re involved?

A Server Farm / Data Center

How Do Websites Keep Passwords Secure?

A high-level overview of how websites and services should store passwords security, so next time there’s a breach you’ll know what to look for.

All the eggs - One basket.

Isn’t Storing Your Passwords In One Place a Security Risk?

Yes, password managers put all your information in one place. It better be a very good place.

Cryptex

Why Is It So Important to Use Different Passwords for Everything?

Using different passwords on different sites is not only good practice, it’s necessary to keep your accounts safe. I’ll review why, and how best to handle a plethora of passwords.

Is a periodic password change a good thing?

Is a Periodic Password Change a Good Thing?

Changing passwords periodically is conventional wisdom. I disagree, and then discuss whether periodic password change can even happen reliably.

Security Breach!

What Should I Do When My Information Is Involved in a Breach?

If your account is ever part of a breach, secure it to avoid further risk.

PIN sign in

How Can a PIN Be as Secure as a Password?

On the surface, signing into Windows using a PIN feels less secure than a traditional password. It’s possible it’s more secure.

Password

How Do I Choose a Good Password?

With occasional security breaches at service providers and rampant email account theft, password security has never been more important. Make sure you choose and use secure passwords.

Passwords on Sticky Notes (Don't Do This.)

View Your Saved Passwords in Google Chrome

Google Chrome can save your and display your passwords. That’s convenient, but is it secure?

The scene includes a computer screen displaying an email inbox with several spam email subjects visible, such as "Account Hacked!" and "Urgent: Security Alert." A large, bold, red 'X' is superimposed over these scam emails, symbolizing rejection or marking them as spam. In the foreground, a figure symbolizing a user (not specific in appearance) confidently presses the 'delete' or 'spam' button on the email client, ignoring the scam attempts.

Has a Hacker Really Hacked My Email Account?

A scam claims your email account has been hacked, possibly even including a password you’ve used. Don’t be fooled.

Entering a password into LastPass, with visibility enabled

Why Am I Getting “Invalid Password”?

“Invalid password” messages frustrate a lot of people, particularly when they’re certain they’ve typed in the right thing. I’ll review how what you enter might still be invalid.

Microsoft account activity

Why Do I See Lots of Failed Login Attempts on My Account?

We are all under constant attack. I’ll show you how to look at your Outlook.com recent activity and review why it might be full of failed login attempts.

Is Online Banking Safe?

Is Online Banking Safe?

You can bank online safely, as long as you know what to look for and what steps to take.

A password, and a password selected

Tip of the Day: Watch for Spaces When Copying Passwords

Facebook Login, including the "Forgot account?" link

Tip of the Day: Use Available Recovery Options

What was that password?

How Can I Recover My Current Account Password

Trying to recover the existing password for an online account is usually an exercise in frustration. There’s one possible straw to grasp at.

Your password appeared in a breach.

Password Checkup: A Recommended Chrome Browser Extension

Password Checkup is a browser extension that tells you if the password you’re using has been discovered by hackers.

PIN Sign-In

Tip of the Day: Sign in With a PIN (or Not)

Windows 10 introduced the ability to sign in using a PIN. It’s quick and easy to set up and use.

Gmail change password dialog

How Do I Change My Gmail Password?

It’s not necessarily obvious where Google/Gmail hides the “Change Password” functionality. I’ll walk you through it.

IE Delete Browsing History dialog

How Do I Disable Remembered Passwords in My Browser?

Web browsers aren’t necessarily the most secure approach to saving your login passwords. I’ll show you how to disable the feature and clear out any previously remembered passwords in IE, Firefox and Chrome.

HeartBleed

Why Do I Need to Change Passwords After HeartBleed?

Heartbleed: what it is, what it isn’t, why it’s important, and of course what you need to do.

I Spy

Is It Safe to Stay Logged in to My Password Vault?

Remember, the goal is to keep malware off your computer, not to try and manage it once it’s watching you. But there is another security hazard you may not be thinking about.

2013’s Ten Most Popular Posts

As 2013 draws to a close, I review which articles on Ask Leo! were the most popular and briefly discuss what trends that I feel they reveal.

Why Are Sites Making It Difficult for Password Managers?

Long passwords are your top-line of defense in internet security. Don’t let any trends steer you in the other direction.

Will locking my computer prevent scheduled and autorun programs from running?

Macrium will run just fine as long as your computer is still turned on. Other automatic programs may have trouble, depending on their configuration.

Hacked!

Would changing user names result in additional security?

Common wisdom is that you should change passwords periodically; so should you change user names too? My take: common wisdom is wrong from the start.