Topic: Reusing passwords puts people at risk

[Clive]

Sophos

Internet users need to use different and unique passwords for every website they access if they want to beat fraudsters, security experts warn.

A new poll reveals that only 14 per cent of internet users use different passwords when registering for password-protected sites on the net.

Forty-one per cent of those asked admitted to using the same password all the time while 45 per cent of respondents said that they had a small handful of words to use as a password, according to the research by security company Sophos.

The figures also show that 72 per cent of office workers use weak and easy to crack passwords such as girlfriends/wife names and their favourite football team.

Security experts urge computer users to choose a unique password with a combination of letters and numbers, especially when browsing banking websites.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said: ?It's very dangerous to use the same password for all websites; it's giving hackers easy access to your personal details and help to steal your identity.?

Another survey revealed that office workers are unaware of security threats around USB drives and other portable devices, with two-thirds of people mislaying USB sticks that contained business critical information.

The research from security company Centennial also show that that almost a third of respondents use less than half of the available space on their MP3 players.