Safer Internet Day: The dumbest (and smartest) passwords you can use

You lock your house properly at night before you go to sleep. So why are we so lax about our passwords on the internet? During Safer Internet Day, we tell you the dumbest options that are used and give you tips for a better password.

We are increasingly digital. If we are to believe Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook, we will even spend time in the metaverse in the future. Although we are fully online, the security is still disappointing. That is why Safer Internet Day was created.

Bad passwords

We all have a Fred from ICT at work who loves to bombard you with obscure e-mails. Of course with the aim of protecting you as an employee as well as possible. After all, your employer does not want you to be hacked, so that sensitive data is exposed. Security must also be good at home, because you do not want strangers to access that data. Yet we make common mistakes with passwords.

The biggest mistake is to use an easy to guess password. But what kind of passwords are the easiest to guess? We have listed a number of them for you during Safer Internet Day.

The ideal security during Safer Internet Day

So we’ve covered what you should definitely not do. Now let’s talk about how to better protect yourself online. Creating a good password is not difficult. In fact, it’s really simple. Safer Internet Day is the ideal day to get started.

If you create a new account somewhere with an Apple device, Apple itself will suggest a password. Certain things stand out if you prefer to come up with a password yourself. The longer the better. It is also better to use different characters. Don’t just think of capital letters or numbers, but also other characters such as a dash or question mark.

All those different passwords are of course very nice, but you may think that it is difficult to remember them all. Fortunately, there is a password manager for that. You can, of course, choose to store them through your Google or Apple account, but there are also third-party companies that offer such services. For example, you have LastPass and 1Password. An ideal option during Safer Internet Day.

Finally, a tip to be extra safe when you log in somewhere. Many services offer two-step verification. This means that when you log in to a device for the first time, you must validate this gadget with a code that the relevant service sends to your phone. This way you can only log in on devices to which you have given access.