Updates Authentication Section pt1

- Use a strong password
- Don't Reuse Passwords
- Use a Secure Password Manager
- Enable 2-Factor Authentication
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@ -35,17 +35,19 @@ Use strong passwords, which can't be easily guessed or cracked. Length is more i
**Security** | **Priority** | **Details and Hints**
--- | --- | ---
**Use a strong password** | Recommended | Try to get a good mixture of upper and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. Avoid names, places and dictionary words where possible, and aim to get a decent length (a minimum of 12+ characters is ideal). Have a look at [HowSecureIsMyPassword.net](https://howsecureismypassword.net) and [How Long will it take to Crack my Password](https://www.betterbuys.com/estimating-password-cracking-times/) to get an idea of what a strong password is. See [this guide](https://securityinabox.org/en/guide/passwords/) for more information.
**Dont save your password in browsers** | Recommended | Most modern browsers offer to save your credentials when you log into a site. Dont allow this! As they are not always encrypted, hence can allow someone to gain easy access into your accounts. Also do not store passwords in a .txt file or any other unencrypted means. Ideally use a reputable password manager.
**Use different passwords for each account you have** | Recommended | If your credentials for one site get compromised, it can give hackers access to your other online accounts. So it is highly recommended not to reuse the same passwords. Again, the simplest way to manage having many different passwords, is to use a [password manager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_manager). Good options include [BitWarden](https://bitwarden.com), [1Password](https://1password.com), or for an offline app without sync [KeePass](https://keepass.info) / [KeePassXC](https://keepassxc.org).
**Be cautious when logging in on someone elses device** | Recommended | When using someone else's machine, ensure that you're in a private session (like Incognito mode, Ctrl+Shift+N) so that nothing gets saved. Ideally you should avoid logging into your accounts on other people's computer, since you can't be sure their system is clean. Be especially cautious of public machines, or when accessing any of your secure accounts (email, banking etc.).
**Avoid password hints** | Optional | Some sites allow you to set password hints. Using this feature makes it easier for hackers.
**Never answer online security questions truthfully** | Optional | If a site asks security questions (such as place of birth, mother's maiden name or first car etc), don't provide real answers. It is a trivial task for hackers to find out this information. Instead, create a password inside your password manager to store your fictitious answer.
**Dont use a 4-digit PIN to access your phone** | Optional | Dont use a short PIN to access your smartphone or computer. Instead, use a text password. Pins or numeric passphrases are much easier crack, (A 4-digit pin has 10,000 combinations, compared to 7.4 million for a 4-character alpha-numeric code).
**Use a Strong Password** | Recommended | If your password is too short, or contains dictionary words, places or names- then it can be easily cracked through brute force, or guessed by someone. The easiest way to make a strong password, is by making it long (12+ characters)- consider using a 'passphrase', made up of many words. Alternatively, use a password generator to create a long, strong random password. Have a play with [HowSecureIsMyPassword.net](https://howsecureismypassword.net), to gen an idea of how quickly common passwords can be cracked. Read more about creating strong passwords: [securityinabox.org](https://securityinabox.org/en/guide/passwords)
**Don't reuse Passwords** | Recommended | If someone was to reuse a password, and one site they had an account with suffered a leak (data breaches occur aprox. every [39 seconds](https://eng.umd.edu/news/story/study-hackers-attack-every-39-seconds)), then a criminal could easily gain unauthorized access to their other accounts. This is usually done through large-scale automated login requests, and it is called Credential Stuffing. Unfortunately this is all too common, but it's simple to protect against- use a different password for each of your online accounts
**Use a Secure Password Manager** | Recommended | For most people it is going to be near-impossible to remember hundreds of strong and unique passwords. A password manager is an application that generates, stores and auto-fills your login credentials for you. All your passwords will be encrypted against 1 master passwords (which you must remember, and it should be very strong). Most password managers have browser extensions and mobile apps, so whatever device you are on, your passwords can be auto-filled. A good all-rounder is [BitWarden](https://bitwarden.com), or see [Recommended Password Managers](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#password-managers)
**Enable 2-Factor Authentication** | Recommended | 2FA is where you must provide both something you know (a password) and something you have (such as a code on your phone) to log in. This means that if anyone has got your password (e.g. through phishing, malware or a data breach), they will no be able to log into your account. It's easy to get started, download [an authenticator app](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#2-factor-authentication) onto your phone, and then go to your account security settings and follow the steps to enable 2FA. Next time you log in on a new device, you will be prompted for the code that displays in the app on your phone (it works without internet, and the code usually changes every 30-seconds)
**Dont save your password in browsers** | Optional | Most modern browsers offer to save your credentials when you log into a site. Dont allow this, as they are not always encrypted, hence could allow someone to gain access into your accounts. Instead use a password manager to store (and auto-fill) your passwords
**Be cautious when logging in on someone elses device** | Optional | When using someone else's machine, ensure that you're in a private/ incognito session (Use Ctrl+Shift+N/ Cmd+Shift+N). This will ensure that none of your credentials, cookies, browsing history of session data gets saved. Ideally you should avoid logging into your accounts on other people's computer, since you can't be sure their system is clean. Be especially cautious of public machines, as malware and tracking is more common here
**Avoid password hints** | Optional | Some sites allow you to set password hints. Using this feature can make it easier for social engineers to guess your credentials
**Never answer online security questions truthfully** | Optional | If a site asks security questions (such as place of birth, mother's maiden name or first car etc), don't provide real answers. It is a trivial task for hackers to find out this information online or through social engineering. Instead, create a fictitious answer, and store it inside your password manager
**Dont use a 4-digit PIN to access your phone** | Optional | Dont use a short PIN to access your smartphone or computer. Instead, use a text password or much longer pin. Numeric passphrases are easy crack, (A 4-digit pin has 10,000 combinations, compared to 7.4 million for a 4-character alpha-numeric code)
**Use an offline password manager** | Advanced | Consider an offline password manager, encrypted by a strong password. If you work across two or more computers, this could be stored on an encrypted USB. [KeePass](http://keepass.info/) is a strong choice.
**If possible, try to avoid biometric and hardware-based authentication** | Advanced | Fingerprint sensors, face detection and voice recognition are all hackable. Where possible replace these with traditional strong passwords.
**See also** [Recommended Password Managers](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#password-managers)
**Recommended Software**: [Password Managers](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#password-managers) | [2FA Authenticators](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#2-factor-authentication)
## 2-Factor Authentication