Protect Your Password And Account Security, By Lying

I’m not going to tell you how to protect your online accounts by not using passwords like God and “password,” or PIN numbers like 1234 and 0000. You already know that.

With the proliferation of hackers penetrating the security of major financial institutions and social media hubs, account security is being expanded beyond the user name and password. It’s common now to see challenge questions, device identification, and security images. These are all great improvements that vastly increase the security of your online presence. But what you may not know is that, if you are honest and tell the truth, you may be putting your password and account security at risk.

Think about some common prefabricated prompts that you can select from to use as password-reset questions:

• Where were you born?
• What year did you graduate high school?
• What high school did you go to?
• What was your high school’s mascot?
• What college did you attend?
• What is your mother’s maiden name?
• What is the name of your first pet?
• What is your favorite food?

You are putting your online account security at risk by being honest.

All of the answers to these questions can be found using a simple Google or public records search. It’s easy for a thief to yield plenty of self-volunteered information about yourself using social media as well. Finding one or two pieces of key information can reveal everything that is needed to reset a password or access an account.

So what can you do to protect your accounts from being hacked? Besides utilizing strong passwords and strict social media privacy settings, Lie. By using some creativity, you can ensure that the extra layer of security designed for your online accounts remains useful and can’t be compromised by searching for information that is publicly available. Lying removes the association from what you want people to know and what they shouldn’t know.

Here are the same challenge questions with sample secure answers:

• Where were you born? Mars
• What year did you graduate high school? 1812
• What high school did you go to? Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• What was your high school’s mascot? An Empty Jar
  
• What college did you attend? School of Hardknocks
• What is your mother’s maiden name? She-Ra
• What is the name of your first pet? Hooch
• What is your favorite food? Gruel

What’s your take on password security? Do you have any tips to share? Will you replace your truthful challenge question responses with lies?