With just about everything being possible through the internet, have you ever stopped and thought about the number of online accounts you hold? It could be as little as 2 or 3 but the chances are, it’s actually 50+ and you don’t even realise it.
When you sign up for an online account, you provide information such as an email address / username and password which are then used from that point to secure your online account with that particular website / company. When entering the password, have you ever stopped and thought about how secure it is? Chances are, you haven’t even considered it. You might be thinking, of course it’s secure, only I know the password.
Wrong.
So, how does this link into your WordPress website?
When setting up a WordPress website, there are many areas which are vulnerable to attack by hackers. A common example is the ability to identify the username of the administrator account. Utilising this loophole, the hacker is half way to gaining access to the dashboard. Even with all the warnings flying around the internet today, most users still use passwords which are considered weak and insecure. You may choose a random word as your password – it might seem ‘secure’ at the time but it can easily be found in a dictionary when a hacker attempts a brute force attack with the goal of gaining access to your account.
Using simple tools which can be downloaded from the internet, a hacker can easily detect a password containing words from the dictionary in a matter of minutes, sometimes even second. Worrying, right? Even a password containing personal information such as your name or significant events such as your anniversary or birthday may not be as secure as you think or would hope.
7 character password consisting of;
a-z = 2 seconds to hack
a-z and A-Z = 6 minutes to hack
a-z, A-Z and 0-9 = 20 minutes to hack
a-z, A-Z, 0-9 £%& = 6 hours to hack
Random password with introducing uppercase and lowercase letters with symbols
securepassword = 51 years
S3cur3pa55w0rd = 10 million years
Tips for securing your passwords
If you want to ensure your WordPress site is as secure as possible, Platinum Digital have a solution for you. We have crafted support plans to keep your website secure, online and backed up so you no longer have to worry about the technical aspect of your website.
If you would like to discuss what we can offer your business, you can schedule a call at a time that suits you where we can run through your requirements and ensure you and your website get the best possible support.
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