News

02/07/2011

How the average Briton uses 10 passwords a day!

Struggling to remember all your computer passwords, PINs and other security codes?  You are not alone.

In yet another sign of the way in which technology is taking over our lives, it seems that the average Briton has to remember up to ten passwords a day.  As a result, research shows, one in three of us resorts to writing down our details to avoid forgetting them completely.

And despite the pressure to continually come up with inventive, uncrackable codewords, over half of those polled admitted they use the same password for everything, whether they're keeping an eye on their bank balance or keeping up with friends online.

The most difficult details to remember were said to be those for banking websites, with log-in information for online shopping and work accounts also identified as tricky in a survey of 1000 people by online payments firm Skrill.  Martin Ott, the company's executive director, said "passwords, PINs and codes go a long way to help protect people.  Consumers may find it annoying to be constantly asked to prove who they are, but unfortunately there will always be scammers out there attempting to trick people into handing over their hard-earned cash".

Most people use easy-to-remember items of personal information such as the name of a pet, an important date or their mother's maiden name when creating a password, but security experts warn these are easy for experienced fraudsters to work out.

With the popularity of online shopping so strong it threatens to destroy the High Street, they argue that keeping your personal information secure has become even more important.  In April, Marks & Spencer contacted many of its customers to inform them that details of their email addresses has been stolen, leaving them open to "phishing" attacks which sees criminals attempt to trick people into revealing their bank details.

To keep your information secure, experts suggest mixing up the letters of a familiar word with a particular website.  For example, if you wanted to use the word "friend" for the social networking site Facebook, then your password could be "ffraiceenbdook".

Daily Mail article - Tuesday 28th June 2011