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Creating Strong Passwords: A Practical Guide for Expats

12 Feb 2024


According to a report by IOM UN Migration, around 281 million migrants worked in countries other than their own in 2020. They migrated to earn a living and offer financial support back home through routine money transfers. They formed about 3.60% of the world’s total population in the same year.

Despite the integration of dazzling technology and the integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence) into the global remittance industry for an improved experience, migrants are still grappling with one challenge. Do you know what that is?

Particularly when it comes to sending money across borders.

Well, it is the safety of your gadgets through which you execute the process. And what better technique to protect them with than strong passwords?

Let’s delve deeper to explore more.

Understanding Online Safety – The Basics

Online safety simply refers to protecting your online presence. When you connect to the internet for any purpose, you are also connected to thousands of other people and networks. While being present online, you tend to share your information – personal and general – that online fraudsters can hack using different tools and modus operandi.

So, online safety refers to ensuring that the information you choose to share online stays safe and also that you know about the modus operandi scammers use to steal your data to prey.

But online safety has different layers, particularly when sending money back home to your respective countries. One of these is the inner layer, which refers to what you can do to secure your online presence. It includes creating strong passwords and securing your gadgets.

The other is the outer layer, which refers to what you do to secure yourself from hacking attacks. It includes knowledge about scam types, how scammers attack, and the tools to ensure safety.

Why is Online Safety Important?

You migrate to a developed country because you do not find better employment opportunities in your native country; otherwise, you would not migrate in the first place, right?

Attached to it is the fact that you have to send funds back home to offer financial support regularly. You use your smartphone and other gadgets for this purpose because online money transfers are anchored in dazzling technology nowadays.

Imagine that your data is stolen, including your account details and card information!

What will happen?

Remember that every online scam boils down to financially fleecing you.

Therefore, if this scenario does not frighten you, then what else will?

Suffice it to say that the importance of your online safety cannot be overemphasized.

It essentially leads you to understand passwords and how you can create a strong password.

What is a Password?

Simply put, a password is a set of characters you use to verify your identity during an authentication process. Typically, passwords are used in line with the username and are supposed to be known by the user only.

A password you have created and is known to you allows you access to a device, an application or a website.

The length of passwords varies and contains letters, numbers, and special characters. Passwords are also called passphrases, passcodes or passkeys.

Creating a Password

There is no complexity involved in the creation of a password. The process itself is simple, but when it comes to creating strong passwords, you need to exercise caution because a strong password increases safety.

However, certain organizations and companies set password policies to create strong passwords and follow best practices to manage login credentials to increase the safety of the company’s overall online presence.

Tips for Creating a Password

As mentioned earlier, creating a password is simple. But strong passwords require a little extra of your attention. The following tips, however, will help you create passwords easily.

  • A password must be a minimum of 8 characters and a maximum between 16 to 64
  • Passwords must include uppercase and lowercase letters
  • At least one number must be used
  • Do not use any information that is common and related to you
  • Always use a password management tool for enhanced safety

People exhibit a careless attitude toward password management despite the importance of passwords and sensitivity.

Shortcomings in Managing Passwords

Research conducted by the Ponemon Institute revealed that people do not exercise caution and care while managing passwords. Even the migrants, for whom online safety is of critical importance, especially in their every money transfer back home, are somehow careless about this. It can leave them vulnerable to remittance transfer scams and fraud.

Take a look below.

  • About 50% of people reuse an average of 12 personal and business passwords at their workplaces.
  • Around 66% of people share their passwords with colleagues to allow them access.
  • About 54% of people simply do not use any form of two-factor authentication.
  • About 69% of people do not use password managers
  • Around 59% of people rely on human memory to manage passwords
  • About 42% of people use sticky notes for password management

Essential Tips for Creating a Strong Password

While creating a password is not a difficult process, to create a strong password, you need to practice the following few tips. Remember that one of the several reasons behind hacking is the absence of strong passwords.

Never Use Sequential Numbers

Always remember that the usage of letters or numbers while creating a password in a sequence is never admissible. Regardless of the length of the password, this practice alone turns your password weak and vulnerable.

Avoid Using Personal Information

To easily remember a password, you may find it easy to include any information that is personal and, therefore, not easy to forget. Such information can include your date of birth, favorite color, or place of birth. Avoid doing this.

Use an Awkward Combination

Since a password is unique to you only, you should make sure to make it as awkward as possible. Use awkward combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters, and that too in an awkward sequence so that guessing is not possible.

Use Unrelated Words

One of the ways to ensure your password is awkward is to combine unrelated words and phrases in it. Since a password can extend up to 64 characters, combining unrelated words and phrases should not be a challenge.

Use a Password Manager

When it comes to remembering passwords, you are likely to rely on your memory. It can be dangerous. Therefore, always ensure that you use a password manager because you use several passwords for different platforms. It is a safe way to manage passwords.

Never Reuse a Password

It is easy to use one password for different platforms. Make sure to create and use different platforms for different apps and platforms. For example, the password to unlock your phone mustn’t be the same as the one to access an app.

Wrapping Up the Discussion

Ensure your online safety at all levels as a migrant when you send money online to your respective countries. The selection of your money transfer service provider, however, also plays a significant role in your online safety.

Choosing ACE Money Transfer for this purpose is the safest bet you can make because of the unbreakable safety in different ways, including speed. For example, your funds to Pakistan will be delivered in less than 7 seconds! It makes the safety of your transactions optimal, coupled with financial benefits, including low fees and live and market-competitive currency exchange rates from one window.

FAQs

What is online safety?

Online safety refers to knowing about the online safety and security threats that are present when you get online for any purpose. Online safety also refers to taking appropriate measures to guard yourself against online threats and fraud.

Why is online safety important?

Your online safety is critically important because, as a migrant, you work in a foreign country to earn a living and support your family financially through an online money transfer service. So, not exercising care about your online safety can land you in grave financial trouble and leave you exposed to hackers to blackmail you and several online scams.

What are the benefits of online safety?

Some of the benefits of online safety include saving time and money, better regulatory compliance, protection against online scams, knowing about the modus operandi of online scammers, and staying updated about online safety regulations.

What is a password?

A password is a set of characters that you can use to verify your identity during an authentication process. Passwords are typically aligned with your username and are designed to be known by you alone to allow you access to a device, an app, or a website.

What are the essential tips for creating a strong password?

Some of the important tips for creating a strong password include not using letters and numbers in a sequence, using awkward word and phrase combinations, not using the same password for different platforms, not using personal information, and changing your passwords regularly.

Resources

  • Global migrants

(Interactive World Migration Report 2022 (iom.int)


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