It is constantly remembered but we must always keep it in mind: user accounts of any system (Apple or any other) They will be as strong as the passwords we put on them.. Despite constant warnings over the years, users continue to ignore basic rules for protecting their own systems. A few years ago the alarm went off that remote attackers were «demanding ransoms» by the iPhones and iPads of users who had very weak security on their accounts.

The criminals were caught, but the problem is still there. The attacks continue to take place today and in this sense, whether they are against Apple, Google or any other brand, as these become more popular they become more likely to be flame grass. For that we have to take a series of security measures with our devices as we will see below, if we want to make sure that our devices are safeguarded. Although iCloud has not been compromised by the attacks, our accounts may be. Let’s learn these safer.

A few simple rules can help us greatly improve the security of our phones/tablets:

  • Always, always, always use numbers and letters, uppercase and lowercase. Apple forces you to use certain patterns, but old accounts, above all, may be more unprotected in this regard. If you have an easy password for a long time, don’t wait: go change it right now to Apple ID.
  • Changing the password every X time is a hassle, but it doesn’t hurt to do it from time to time to make sure that at least you don’t make things easy for attackers.
  • Wear punctuation marks helps make it harder to brute force passwords.
  • Don’t use your iCloud mail account (or any other) in a service using the same account password. If the service is compromised, you are giving your data directly to the attacker. In general, do not use the Email/Password pair anywhere. Be wary of sites that try to verify your email and password.
  • Memorize the passwords. That they are only a few numbers and letters, read… If you keep your passwords on paper or in note services, it is possible that at some point they fall into the wrong hands.
  • Activate two-step verification. This helps make it very difficult for an attacker to break into your account.
  • Do not share your Apple ID data with anyone. If they ask you for a password to verify something, automatically be wary. No service or company should ever ask you for passwords of any kind, or send you to pages to log in with your username.
  • Don’t use overly obvious security questions. Combine them so that they are not related to each other.

And it won’t hurt if you go through Apple’s security page to see some more recommendations. Remember that if the security of the devices is compromised, it can be very difficult or impossible to recover them. If this happens and you decide to “pay the ransom”, please immediately change your passwords and follow these recommendations. You will avoid more trouble. Oh, and if you have doubts about methods to create and memorize your passwords, our colleague Eladio offers you interesting alternatives that you can take into account.

Via: MacRumors