Strong passwords, PINs and 2FA
Big idea: a weak password is a lock anyone can open.
The story in short
Silverline Heights got a new app, GateMitra, for visitor entries and parking. To save effort, Ranjan uncle made every flat’s password its flat number plus 123, and pinned the whole list beside the lift. Rohit from Block B simply read it, logged in “for fun”, and flat 1104 got forty pizzas nobody ordered. Happy’s game PIN was 1234, and Mitthu had been repeating Mrs. Iyer’s password from the balcony all week. Nilu chachu helped give every flat its own password, switched on one-time codes for anything serious, and the list came down.
The idea
- Predictable password: built from a pattern or public facts (a flat number, a birthday), so it can be guessed without any “hacking”.
- Exposed credentials: a password written where others can see it defeats the point of having one.
- Shoulder surfing: a password seen or overheard, not guessed.
- Credential reuse: one password on many accounts, so one leak opens everything.
- Passphrase: three random words and a number, like mango-train-47. Long, strange, still memorable.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): a second, different check, such as an OTP, on top of the password.
- Password manager: a locked app that remembers a different strong password for every account.
In real life
Most account take-overs don’t need clever code. They use passwords that were easy to guess or reused somewhere that leaked. Turn on 2FA for email, banking and social media first.
Remember: Keep it strange, keep it secret, and never use the same key on every door.
Check yourself
Which of these is the strongest password?
Your school ID card shows your birthday. Why is your birthday a bad PIN?
You use the same password for your game, email and school portal. The game gets hacked. What's the risk?
What does two-factor authentication add?
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