A mobile device, whether it’s a phone or a tablet, is a very personal item. For many people, it’s an extension of themselves especially with smartphones. Today’s mobile devices are so personal, you can analyze and determine not only someone’s personality and preferences through the data stored in their mobile devices but it’s also possible to find out pretty much everything about a person from these gadgets.
These devices are so convenient, people store everything about themselves, from music, photos, videos, bank accounts, contacts, addresses, passwords, etc. and even secrets that shouldn’t fall into other people’s hands. Because of this, it’s important that mobile devices need to be secured as a protection against people who wish to access these information without your permission.
One of the things I do when I get a new mobile device is to set up a password on it. A lot of people skip this due to inconvenience but it’s really an important step to take. Having a password on your device not only deter people from trying to play around with it, but it also protects your data.
Sometimes it’s not even about protection against data theft. It can be about preventing friends who wish to prank you on your social networks or even lock you out of your own devices. Imagine if anyone has access to your online accounts such as your Facebook account or Twitter simply because your phone is not secured.
When people choose passwords, often they think a randomized password, one that is a combination of letters, numbers, and other characters, is the safest kind to use, but often it’s also the most difficult to remember, so people end up using names or other words. On certain cases, people use a set of numbers instead which almost always are birth dates or one set of the same numbers such as 0000, 1111, 2222, and so on.
For personal devices, the operating system often offers an alternative to use alphanumeric password instead of simple four or six numbers, so whenever that option is available, such as on BlackBerry, iOS, and Android devices, it’s far better to go with that option and use a long password instead.
Now, safer passwords don’t necessarily mean complicated passwords as I said earlier. A passphrase tends to be a better option and much easier to memorize. For example, rather than using something like “p4s5w0rd”, try something like “opensesame” or “chocolatecake”. These kinds of passwords are far easier to remember and are less likely to be guessed by people, so it’s a much better option when securing your mobile devices.
Choosing passwords is always an exercise of balancing between safety and ease of recall. Complex passwords always seem safer but are almost always difficult to remember. Birth dates are way too easy to guess, so it’s never a good option. Having a passphrase is both more secure and easier to remember, so whenever possible, try go for pass phrases for your mobile devices.
AuliaSays 