As a trader, you obviously don’t want anyone else to use your stock illegally. Therefore, you should protect your accounts in which you manage your stock well with a secure password.
How do I create a secure password?
A secure password (also called ‘strong’ password) is a password that cannot be easily cracked by an ‘cyber criminal’. You can create this password yourself or use a tool to do so. The rule is usually: the longer the password/password phrase is, the better.
Tips for creating a secure password are:
- Use a minimum of 12 characters
- Combine lower case letters, numbers, uppercase letters and special characters (&, ?, !, #, %, $)
- Use a passphrase of at least 4 words
What not to do:
- Do not use obvious words, combinations or abbreviations
- Do not use a proverb or familiar phrase as a passphrase
We recommend having different secure passwords for all your accounts. This way you’ll be best protected.
How do I remember all my secure passwords?
A password manager makes password management safe and easy, partly by remembering a password for each website. A password manager also helps you come up with strong passwords. Tom’s Guide has tested some password managers, so you can easily choose one that suits your needs.
Want extra protection? Enter two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) makes logging into your accounts even more secure. With 2FA, in addition to your password, you often have to enter a code that you get via:
- An sms
- An app that creates this code
Often 2FA is activated every time you log in to a new device. Usually you can specify that this device is secure. This is then stored. If you have already logged into a device once, you usually do not need to use 2FA on that device after that.
Is a secret question safe?
No, a secret question is not safe. Sometimes when creating an account you can set a ‘secret question’. By means of your chosen answer to this question you can then reset your password.
Unfortunately, the answers to secret questions are often easy for cyber criminals to find out. Do you have to answer a secret question somewhere? Please provide a passphrase or strong password as your answer.
Sources (in Dutch):
- Rijksoverheid (strong passwords)
- Rijksoverheid (choose a password manager)
- Consumentenbond
- VPNgids.nl