Both Amazon and Netflix have warned their customers about their Amazon and Netflix credentials lurking online, sending their customers emails, asking them to reset their login credentials. Amazon is also informing its users that these details were not hacked directly from Amazon’s database. However, the company stated that the reason behind this action was because password re-use is uncontrolled, and because of the previous hack, these passwords can be used to hack into user accounts.

In an open request made to its customers, Amazon stated that they take their customers’ security and privacy very seriously. While checking for security flaws and related practices, the security experts at Amazon discovered multiple customer passwords and email addresses online – from multiple sources. This in turn, allowed them to trace the emails and passwords that were posted. The company further explained that as they found these passwords and email addresses, temporary passwords were given so that the customer could later reset it themselves.

Furthermore, Amazon added that the password reset would only happen for those discovered on the online leak – not to everyone. Security companies have also highlighted that when examining the Amazon hack, poor passwords were common. According to a recent study published by Sail Point, a company that offers cloud-based solutions, more than fifty percent of computer users use the same password across all platforms, making them extremely vulnerable to a hack.

According to the professionals, passwords should be longer and more complex – the weirder and more complex they are, the harder they are to crack. Your password should be at least thirteen to fourteen characters long, and shouldn’t be dictionary words unless it’s a long sentence made into a single word e.g. howimetyourmother. But don’t use this one, as it’s common. Alter these long passwords with special characters, along with lower case and upper case letters – and don’t keep that sticky note visible in your office cubicle.

Even though this practice seems kind of old school, it is effective: write your passwords on a piece of paper and keep them hidden, rather than storing them on your machine or phone.

Once you have chosen a new complex password(s) and have updated your accounts, enable the two-factor authentication system. This will send you a code whenever you log in; without the code, no one can access your account. However, if you have trouble remembering the long strings of password, then a password manager will do the trick for you. You can read our article – A List of Best Password Managers Offering Both Free & Premium Services for further information.

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