Do you find passwords annoying? Do you use really easy-to-remember ones or the same one for everything, or maybe both? Recipe for disaster!IF you are like millions of other Australians and noticed that nothing much worth watching is on free-to-air TV, you may be streaming instead. Netflix, Stan, the list goes on.
But did you know that you have to watch out for scammers and hackers even when you stream?
Not the whole time, the point of weakness is when you create a password for a streaming service directly on your TV screen. To do so, you have to use the remote control, which is a slow and frustrating process. So, you’ll pick the simplest and shortest password you can think of.
Cybercriminals look for weak and insecure passwords. Your TV is connected to the internet just like your PC, tablet or laptop.
Password manager NordPass found that the top 10 easy-to-bust passwords for streaming platforms were:
123456
12345
123456789
12345678
netflix
UNKNOWN
123123
1234567890
netflix123
qwerty
Streaming passwords tend to be weaker because people tend to share them. So, they create passwords that are easy to remember and easy to type directly on to the TV screen.
Using weak passwords for streaming services is problematic as they’re easy prey for malware capable of stealing personal information. Malware can capture a lot of data, such as usernames, passwords, and email addresses.
So how can you create more secure passwords?
The majority of streaming services allow logging in by users scanning a QR code with their phone. If that’s not an option, it’s worth setting up a long and random password.
Password managers
Overall, managing all your passwords (not just for streaming apps) it is best to use a dedicated password manager, which can store passwords and encrypt them end to end.
A password manager can store all your passwords securely, so you don’t have to worry about remembering them. This allows you to use unique, strong passwords for all your important accounts (rather than using the same password for all of them, which you should never do).
Password managers provide strong encryption, which serves as a strong defense against cyber-criminals.
There are any number of password managers out there. A simple Google search will give you plenty of options. And they are not expensive.
IF you are like millions of other Australians and noticed that nothing much worth watching is on free-to-air TV, you may be streaming instead. Netflix, Stan, the list goes on.
But did you know that you have to watch out for scammers and hackers even when you stream?
Not the whole time, the point of weakness is when you create a password for a streaming service directly on your TV screen. To do so, you have to use the remote control, which is a slow and frustrating process. So, you’ll pick the simplest and shortest password you can think of.
Cybercriminals look for weak and insecure passwords. Your TV is connected to the internet just like your PC, tablet or laptop.
Password manager NordPass found that the top 10 easy-to-bust passwords for streaming platforms were:
123456
12345
123456789
12345678
netflix
UNKNOWN
123123
1234567890
netflix123
qwerty
Streaming passwords tend to be weaker because people tend to share them. So, they create passwords that are easy to remember and easy to type directly on to the TV screen.
Using weak passwords for streaming services is problematic as they’re easy prey for malware capable of stealing personal information. Malware can capture a lot of data, such as usernames, passwords, and email addresses.
So how can you create more secure passwords?
The majority of streaming services allow logging in by users scanning a QR code with their phone. If that’s not an option, it’s worth setting up a long and random password.
Password managers
Overall, managing all your passwords (not just for streaming apps) it is best to use a dedicated password manager, which can store passwords and encrypt them end to end.
A password manager can store all your passwords securely, so you don’t have to worry about remembering them. This allows you to use unique, strong passwords for all your important accounts (rather than using the same password for all of them, which you should never do).
Password managers provide strong encryption, which serves as a strong defense against cyber-criminals.
There are any number of password managers out there. A simple Google search will give you plenty of options. And they are not expensive.
