Tips for Creating a Good Password
Many hackers purchase machines that can test billions of passwords in minutes, so it’s important to have a password that is not common. When you look at the top passwords from 2016, it’s pretty clear that most of them are easy to type and easy to remember. The only downside to that is if it’s easy for you to type and remember, then it’s probably easy for others to type and remember. You want your password to be as unique as possible to keep your password safe from hackers and thieves.

Read More: Tips for Using WiFi Safely When Traveling Abroad

Another password problem to avoid is using personal information in your password. Passwords that have a sports team, kids’ names, phone number, or birthday are very susceptible to being hacked. Hackers can find this personal information on your public social media accounts and then plug it into their machines to create password combinations of your personal information.

When creating a password, remember to use numbers, symbols, upper- and lowercase letters, and to make it as long as possible. If you’re having trouble thinking of a new password, try using a passphrase. Just make sure that the phrase is not a commonly known phrase, such as those related to a nursery rhyme or a historical event.

Top Passwords from 2016
Many people will be surprised that “password” is still in the top 10 passwords, but the even more shocking fact is that “123456” made up almost 17% of the 10 million passwords that the security company analyzed. This also means that simple passwords like “password” and “123456” are the most likely to be hacked.

These are the top passwords from 2016: 123456, 123456789, qwerty, 123445678, 111111, 1234567890, 1234567, password, 123123, 987654321, qwertyuiop, mynoob, 123321, 666666, 18atcskd2w, 7777777, 1q2w3e4r, 654321, 555555, 3rjs1la7qe, google, 1q2w3e4r5t, 123qwe, zxcvbnm, and 1q2w3e.

If your password was on this list, then it’s time for you to find a random password generator online or create all new passwords to keep your private information and data safe from hackers.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Beware of plugging in your phone to charge it. When plugged in, your phone lets off electromagnetic radiation that can be tracked. Although a hacker has to be relatively close to your phone — within 67 feet — to gain information, he or she can use a device that detects your phone’s radio spectrum and tracks your keystrokes. As you can imagine, your keystrokes could give away highly-classified personal information.

Read More: How to Tell if Your Android Has Been Hacked

Accelerometers

Your accelerometer — the sensor in your phone to track tilt and motion — can be used to detect typing. When used close to a computer, the accelerometer has a nearly 80-percent accuracy of keystroke detection.

That’s not the only type of hacking the accelerometer is used for, either. This kind of data might not be the typical data hackers want, but did you know that your smartphone, even when it’s disconnected, can give away your location? Hackers can follow your movements if you’re traveling on an underground train. Each bump and the duration between each stops can be monitored by an accelerometer to give away your location.

Lasers

Another way hackers read your keystrokes is by aiming a laser at a smartphone keyboard to track its vibrations. While this method is technically more accurate than using the accelerometer, the laser has to be directed towards the part of the phone that reflects light.

Power Consumption

Load Monitoring is a way to watch voltage and current changes to figure out a person’s connected activity. The technique is typically used by electricity companies to monitor electricity usage in specific places. However, it has also been used as a way to determine which device is running at each time. It also has the potential to be used by hackers to see which devices they have successfully infected with malware.

These are crafty, spy-level hacks to think about, and they might not happen to you personally. But common hacks do happen all the time. Make sure you keep your phone safe with PSafe Total. PSafe Total’s Antivirus works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to keep your phone safe from security breaches.