Why You Shouldn't Reuse Passwords
During your school years did you ever become frustrated when someone in your class shared the same name as you? Better yet, was there ever a time that someone improperly identified you as someone else? Such occurrences are never fun and usually end in confusion. When it comes to usage of your password on the nearly endless social media websites, banking accounts, and mobile apps that we log into each day using the same password may be convenient, but it is fundamentally dangerous.
The idea of reusing a password has been in the minds of millions across the globe. Though, reusing a password across different platforms poses a looming problem, one that could be quickly uncovered if a hacker is able to compromise your reused password. If a hacker or cybercrook were able to steal a reused password, they would then have access to several of your accounts giving them unadulterated access to pilfer emails, banking accounts, and social networking profiles.
No one really wants to have to remember a multitude of different passwords, which is one of the obvious reasons for people commonly reusing the same password. There is no doubt that merely reusing the same password is an easy task but being inherently lazing in doing so will reap dire consequences if ever a reused password was to get in the wrong hands.
Associated information that identifies an individual is one of the major challenges faced when a cybercrook or hacker can get a hold of a reused password. Hackers are crafty and can easily connect the virtual dots when they gain access to one of your online accounts. Not to mention, if ever an email account is accessed they can cross-reference messages in your inbox to then access other accounts using the same username and password.
As one of the few solutions to avoid reusing a password is using a password management system or application. By using a password manager, you may be able to leverage the many features provided in a password management application where you will be able to store several different passwords and use them when necessary. Moreover, a password manager would permit the use of one master password to access several accounts.
While you may be thinking that using one strong master password on a password manager would be the same thing as using one password to access multiple accounts is the same thing. Sure, thinking such is a valid argument. However, using a password manager and one master password is a much more secure method of accessing multiple accounts versus utilizing one password for several accounts. You must realize that most password manager applications do not permit servers or staff to have access to the master password selected by the user. Furthermore, a master password is usually encrypted and is never transmitted over the Internet, which is where hackers can obtain a reused password when directly accessing accounts through a web browser or Internet-accessed mobile application.
The importance of never reusing the same password is strongly stressed as a bad habit through countless companies and organizations throughout the Internet. The security measures put in place on many reputable sites, such as two-factor authentication or secure and private connections only do so much to keep your password transmitted over the Internet protected. Reusing a password will somewhat negate the security measures as hackers who have obtained a reused password will simply move on to another site to access your online account.
