Passwords are part of everyday life for all users who browse the internet. Who needs to manage a personal account online, needs to use passwords for access. But not all passwords are equally effective. Choosing a good password in terms of cybersecurity is essential to keep our accounts well protected.

In this regard, it is very important to know what is essential for a password to be secure, that is, what types of characters should they have and how many are minimally necessary to safeguard the account. Passwords that have less than eight characters can be cracked by cybercriminals in less than an hour and if they are made up of numbers they reveal them practically instantly, while those of twelve could take 3,000 years to find out.

In addition, a study by Hive Systems shows that these twelve-character passwords should not be just numbers, as they can be quickly discovered with any software used by cybercriminals. Ideally, passwords should use a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

What is the best security option?

Experts recommend not only using a password with twelve characters combined with uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols, but also using a second authentication factor if possible.

In this sense, one of the most used methods is, in addition to the password, the unique code that is sent to the mobile and that must be entered to access the accounts. A good option to make it difficult for cybercriminals.

What will happen to passwords in the future?

Passwords have been the most used and widespread method for years to access personal accounts. However, technological advances and constant threats from cybercriminals to decrypt them mean that alternative methods of access will be sought in the future.

Experts say that passwords will disappear in the future to make way for identification through biometrics with devices that do, for example, facial recognition of the user.