Rethinking traditional password protection strategies

As cybercriminals continue to crack codes and breach systems around the world, it may be time to abandon conventional password protection wisdom and explore the potential of password manager software.

Computer and mobile device users have been hearing the same password protection advice from consumer advocates and technology pundits for some time now. Most users are now fully aware that pet names and birthdays are less effective passcodes than the often-recommended combination of eight or more random characters.

But according to Internet Evolution contributor and software engineer Stephen Gallagher, following these so-called best practices may be providing a false sense of security.

"Brute-force attempts to try every possible combination, while inefficient, could crack your password in a few days or weeks of dedicated work on modern computers," Gallagher wrote in his latest column.

Adding complexity may not be the most viable solution either. According to Gallagher, difficult-to-remember passwords may inspire users to write down their credentials in a separate location, introducing entirely new online security concerns.

Instead, experts have advised employing a password organizer tool that can both generate and store strong passwords for a dozen or more accounts.