To prevent your passwords from being hacked, you should notice that:
1. Do not use the same password, security question and answer for multiple important accounts.
2. Use a password that has at least 16 characters, use at least one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one special symbol.
3. Do not use the names of your families, friends or pets in your passwords.
4. Do not use postcodes, house numbers, phone numbers, birthdates, ID card numbers, social security numbers, and so on in your passwords.
5. Do not use any dictionary word in your passwords.
6. Do not use two or more similar passwords which most of their characters are same, for example, ilovepizzaMac, ilovepizzaDropBox, since if one of these passwords is stolen, then it means that all of these passwords are stolen!
7. Do not let your Web browsers( FireFox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, IE ) to store your passwords, since all passwords saved in Web browsers can be revealed easily.
8. Do not log in to important accounts on the computers of others, or when connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, Tor, free VPN or web proxy.
9. Do not send sensitive information online via unencrypted( e.g. HTTP or FTP ) connections, because messages in these connections can be sniffed with very little effort. You should use encrypted connections such as HTTPS, SFTP, FTPS, SMTPS, IPSec whenever possible.
10. It’s recommended to change your passwords every 10 weeks.
11. It’s recommended that you remember a few master passwords, store other passwords in a plain text file and encrypt this file with 7-Zip, GPG or a disk encryption software such as BitLocker, or manage your passwords with a password management software.
12. Encrypt and backup your passwords to different locations, then if you lost access to your computer or account, you can retrieve your passwords back quickly.
13. Turn on 2-step authentication whenever possible.
14. Do not store your critical passwords in the cloud.
15. Access important websites( e.g. Paypal ) from bookmarks directly, otherwise please check its domain name carefully, it’s a good idea to check the popularity of a website with Alexa toolbar to ensure that it’s not a phishing site before entering your password.
16. Protect your computer with firewall and antivirus software, block all incoming connections and all unnecessary outgoing connections with the firewall. Download software from reputable sites only, and verify the MD5 / SHA1 / SHA256 checksum or GPG signature of the installation package whenever possible.
17. Keep the operating systems( e.g. Windows 7, Windows 10, Mac OS X, iOS, Linux ) and Web browsers( e.g. FireFox, Chrome, IE, Microsoft Edge ) of your devices( e.g. Windows PC, Mac PC, iPhone, iPad, Android tablet ) up-to-date by installing the latest security update.
18. Lock your computer and mobile phone when you leave them.
19. Use at least 3 different email addresses, use the first one to receive emails from important sites and Apps, such as Paypal and Amazon, use the second one to receive emails from unimportant sites and Apps, use the third one( from a different email provider, such as Outlook and GMail ) to receive your password-reset email when the first one( e.g. Yahoo Mail ) is hacked etc.
20. Do not click the link in an email or SMS message, do not reset your passwords by clicking them, except that you know these messages are not fake.
21. Do not tell your passwords to anybody in the email.
22. Close your web browser when you leave your computer, otherwise the cookies can be intercepted with a small USB device easily, making it possible to bypass two-step verification and log into your account with stolen cookies on other computers.
1. Do not use the same password, security question and answer for multiple important accounts.
2. Use a password that has at least 16 characters, use at least one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one special symbol.
3. Do not use the names of your families, friends or pets in your passwords.
4. Do not use postcodes, house numbers, phone numbers, birthdates, ID card numbers, social security numbers, and so on in your passwords.
5. Do not use any dictionary word in your passwords.
6. Do not use two or more similar passwords which most of their characters are same, for example, ilovepizzaMac, ilovepizzaDropBox, since if one of these passwords is stolen, then it means that all of these passwords are stolen!
7. Do not let your Web browsers( FireFox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, IE ) to store your passwords, since all passwords saved in Web browsers can be revealed easily.
8. Do not log in to important accounts on the computers of others, or when connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, Tor, free VPN or web proxy.
9. Do not send sensitive information online via unencrypted( e.g. HTTP or FTP ) connections, because messages in these connections can be sniffed with very little effort. You should use encrypted connections such as HTTPS, SFTP, FTPS, SMTPS, IPSec whenever possible.
10. It’s recommended to change your passwords every 10 weeks.
11. It’s recommended that you remember a few master passwords, store other passwords in a plain text file and encrypt this file with 7-Zip, GPG or a disk encryption software such as BitLocker, or manage your passwords with a password management software.
12. Encrypt and backup your passwords to different locations, then if you lost access to your computer or account, you can retrieve your passwords back quickly.
13. Turn on 2-step authentication whenever possible.
14. Do not store your critical passwords in the cloud.
15. Access important websites( e.g. Paypal ) from bookmarks directly, otherwise please check its domain name carefully, it’s a good idea to check the popularity of a website with Alexa toolbar to ensure that it’s not a phishing site before entering your password.
16. Protect your computer with firewall and antivirus software, block all incoming connections and all unnecessary outgoing connections with the firewall. Download software from reputable sites only, and verify the MD5 / SHA1 / SHA256 checksum or GPG signature of the installation package whenever possible.
17. Keep the operating systems( e.g. Windows 7, Windows 10, Mac OS X, iOS, Linux ) and Web browsers( e.g. FireFox, Chrome, IE, Microsoft Edge ) of your devices( e.g. Windows PC, Mac PC, iPhone, iPad, Android tablet ) up-to-date by installing the latest security update.
18. Lock your computer and mobile phone when you leave them.
19. Use at least 3 different email addresses, use the first one to receive emails from important sites and Apps, such as Paypal and Amazon, use the second one to receive emails from unimportant sites and Apps, use the third one( from a different email provider, such as Outlook and GMail ) to receive your password-reset email when the first one( e.g. Yahoo Mail ) is hacked etc.
20. Do not click the link in an email or SMS message, do not reset your passwords by clicking them, except that you know these messages are not fake.
21. Do not tell your passwords to anybody in the email.
22. Close your web browser when you leave your computer, otherwise the cookies can be intercepted with a small USB device easily, making it possible to bypass two-step verification and log into your account with stolen cookies on other computers.
