Weak passwords can be a loophole for hackers to break into various user accounts on the internet and steal personal data stored in them.
Unfortunately, according to a Google survey with the research institute YouGov, most Indonesians still use weak passwords. More than half of the respondents claimed to have experienced a data leak.
Google also provides a number of tips for users to manage credential information such as passwords on the Internet, so that accounts and personal data are not easily stolen by hackers.
1. Create a more secure password with a variety of character combinations
Product Marketing Manager of Google Indonesia, Amanda Chan, said users can create passwords with various combinations of characters. “Create a more secure password, you can use uppercase and lowercase letters, also use symbols such as an exclamation mark or dollar sign,” Amanda told KompasTekno in a virtual event held by Google, Wednesday (11/3/2021). In addition, the various characters should also be combined with a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and so on, for example “!n1P@S5w0Rdy9B4iK”.
2. Use a password manager application to help remember If it is difficult to remember a password because the composition is too difficult, then the user can use a password manager application. For example as Google provided in the following link. Amanda said the password manager application will remember the user’s password, so there is no need to bother entering it again when trying to access an account.
When logging into a social media account using the Chrome browser, for example, Google will display a pop-up window confirming whether the username and password entered are stored in Password Manager or not. Examples of other popular password manager applications include 1Password and LastPass.
3. Check if the password is secure
After creating a password, you should check the level of security. This can be done, among other things, through Google’s Password Manager, via the “Go to Password Checkup” button on the home page. Password Checkup will assess the security level of the user’s password, and notify if the password has been used repeatedly or has been involved in data leakage.
4. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) Currently, a password alone is not enough to secure an account. Users are encouraged to activate the two-factor authentication (2FA) feature in online services. For Google, for example, the 2FA system will ask for verification after someone tries to login by entering a password. Thus, there are two stages to login. Verification is done by sending the OTP (One-time) password code via SMS or phone call to the number
linked to a Google account. It can also be through a pop-up window that appears on other devices that are also connected to a Google account.
5. Check account security regularly
The last thing users can do to secure their account and password is to check regularly.
For Google accounts, checking can be done through the Security Checkup page which can be accessed via the g.co/securitycheckup page. There, users can find out what devices are connected to the Google account, saved passwords, activity history using Google accounts, active security features, and so on.
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