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Microsoft Might Put a Ban on Your Go-To Password Soon

Phrases like "123456" and "monkey" are about to be a thing of the past.

21 March, 2018
Microsoft Might Put a Ban on Your Go-To Password Soon

Nobody likes being told what to do. Maybe that's why people continue to use weak passwords, despite warnings that it will leave them vulnerable to hackers. Well, Microsoft has had enough. That's why the tech company decided to ban the most common phrases people use for their logins.

The company referred to the worst passwords from the past year to create their list, which means things like "123456," "password," "abcdefg" and "monkey" will soon be a no go. Over the next few months, people who have a password on their list and use Microsoft programs like Outlook, OneDrive and XBox will be prompted to pick a better one when they sign in.

Even though this might feel like just another annoying thing to remember, it's for your own safety. According to Alex Weinert of Azure AD Identity Protection, he sees more than 10 million attacks on Microsoft accounts every single day. By requiring users to pick out more complicated phrases, the company hopes to prevent hackers from being able to access accounts just by guessing.

But they're not alone in their efforts to get users to think more carefully about security. For one, Google might switch to face-recognition, location or fingerprint scanning in the future. Our thoughts? It's a small price to pay to prevent people from stealing our personal information.

​Via

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