Eight Ways to Create Stronger Passwords and Protect Your Accounts

Chances are that you or someone you know has had an account hacked. But do you know how the cyber attacker broke through? In order to truly understand how to protect yourself, you need to understand how personal security breaches occur.

In the movies, cyber attackers shuffle through papers and photos for clues, guessing passwords until they pick the right combination and are granted access.

That is not how it happens in real life.

Cyber attackers use tools to automate the process and then conduct mass attacks across the Internet. These tools use dictionaries, lists of common words or passwords, and then try each one in succession. The name of your dog and birthday don't come into play during an automated attack, and therefore don't matter.

Yet there are steps you can take to help keep your accounts from being breached. Security expert James Jardine of Secure Ideas shares simple ways to foil cyber attackers by creating stronger passwords.