Every other day, I see an article that urges users to update and use strong passwords and in the replies to the post, people post their stories of how they neglected and ignored security of their social media and personal passwords and how they regret it now. Many people use the same password on almost all of the websites on which they have an account, under the illusion that their seven-word password that ends with "123" is secure enough. Different computer scientists, social media companies, and even ex-hackers recommend changing your password every once a week. This advice makes you definitely hack-proof if you're as careful in real life as you are on the internet.

Hacking

gerund or present participle
To gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer

We live in a world where almost everything is aided by computers. It is now more necessary than ever to keep oneself safe from hackers and exploiters.

Only 8% of the world's currency is physical. The other 92% exists on computers. It is the reason why companies require better than the best security solutions. The frequency of cyber-attacks on different companies only seems to be increasing in today's world. When companies decide to rush their product and do not cover all the bases, it leaves vulnerabilities for the hackers. Gold glimmering, waiting for it to be discovered. That's what hackers do. They discover vulnerabilities that are sometimes simply in plain site.

With the progress and development of computers, hacking has also developed a lot.

Many people use very simple, short passwords instead of highly secure complex ones. When the sites show that their password is "weak", they don't give it a second thought because it is just acceptable. They use same short passwords for multiple websites and their reasoning is that so I wouldn't forget. Brute-forcing programs will take what 10 minutes to crack it? People recommend complex passwords because brute-forcing programs cannot crack strong passwords. Remember, if someone somehow gets access to your Facebook account, he will then try to change it. That will require your email. And if it has the same password as your Facebook one, then you're fucked.

The Consequences

If that's your primary email address, then you'd probably have a lot of personal things stored in your inbox. Not to mention all of your other accounts on different websites that are connected to that e-mail address. And most importantly, your online wallets. Your bitcoin, dogecoin, litecoin and steem wallets would be all at risks. This is also the reason it is recommended to use local wallets like Multibit, Electrum and so on. If he gets access to some website on which you had stored your credit card and billing information, you're just screwed. I won't even go into more details about what potentially could happen. I'll give you a hint though:

A man named Simon Bunce was once arrested for buying child pornography. He lost his job, his friends and family over it only to be discovered that someone in Indonesia got access to his credit card.

What can I do to make myself more secure?

Well, first and foremost, check your computer. Scan it and get rid of any viruses, trojan horses, keyloggers, rootkits. All of that bad stuff. After that is done, you may need a new, more stronger password. My opinion will be to use a random generated password. You can use Random.org for that. If you have any wallets online, consider switching to a desktop wallet like Electrum and Multibit. It is not recommended to store your bitcoins and crypto up on the internet because each and every site is prone to cyber-attacks and hacks. Who knows when Coinbase may get hacked?

Conclusion

Since, the hack on Steemit, I have seen a lot of incredible posts encouraging others to change their passwords. A lot of users follow that advice, a lot just ignore it. It is better to be safe and sorry, I always say. I am not forcing you to do nothing here, I'm just giving you my honest advice. It really comes down to this in the end. Whether you choose to follow some advice or not, it really is up to you. Now, what's it going to be?

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