Last year alone, a staggering 721 million passwords were breached and leaked by hackers worldwide, according to C2A. If you believe your passwords are secure enough, it's time to reconsider, as evidently, millions of others thought the same.

 As password breaches become increasingly sophisticated and result in data misuse, it's vital to create passwords that are difficult for both humans and programs to guess. Let's first comprehend how hacking works: When a password is created, it's put through a security algorithm called the hashing algorithm. This generates a random string of characters, known as a hash, which ensures the safe storage of the password. Even a slight modification to the password results in a completely different hash. Moreover, the process of reversing the hash into the original password is impossible, making it tremendously challenging for hackers to crack passwords. However, hackers often use known words to create hash sequences, which they then compare to the hash of your passwords. If they find a matching hash, they can gain access to your password.

1.     Avoid Common Words: Using common words as passwords makes it incredibly easy for hackers and crackers to match their hash sequences composed of common words to your password. If your password is a common word, it can be cracked immediately.

2.     Opt for Length: The longer your password, the more difficult it is to crack. This makes the process of hash sequences to the hash of one's password increasingly time-consuming. Thus, make sure your passwords are lengthy to exhaust your hacker from attempting to breach your account.

3.     Complexity is Key: A more complex password is less likely to be cracked by the hashing algorithm. For instance, while 'netsafety2005' can be cracked quickly, a password like 'N3t5@f3!y' requires a much longer string of complex hash combinations to be compared before the password is revealed.

4.     Avoid Personal Information: Personal information is typically the first thing hackers seek, particularly when targeting specific individuals with malicious intentions. Passwords containing a pet's name, family member's names, addresses, etc., are some of the first data hackers will employ to compare with hash to identify your password.

5.     Say No to Sequential Numbers: When selecting from the pool of hash sequences, the information algorithm is likely to attempt a sequence like '1234' before trying something like '7309'. Using non-sequential numbers makes it harder for the algorithm to crack your password.

Now that you're aware of what makes passwords robust and how to create them, you're ready for an update. So, go ahead and strengthen your passwords – HAPPY UPDATING!