Horoscope: Aries sign? If you are using Astrology linked passwords, then STOP! Check astro tips

Astrology enthusiasts often keep passwords after their horoscope star signs like Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn etc. This habit of keeping a Zodiac sign password is risky. Do it as per these astro tips.

Astrology fans should not use their horoscope star signs such as Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn for passwords. Zodiac sign as password is dangerous, check astro tips (Pixabay)

We all allow ourselves to indulge in a little bit of Astrology from time to time. From reading the day or week's prediction in the paper or online to finding out about our personality traits based on horoscope star signs. But this indulgence can get very dangerous if you keep your Zodiac sign as the password to your online accounts. If you are in the habit of keeping your password based on your star sign like Aries, Gemini, Capricorn, Cancer, Acquarius or Scorpio, then we have an Astrology tip of the day for you - you are likely to get hacked. It is very easy for hackers to guess these commonly used passwords to break into your social media, emails as well as bank accounts. We have shared some tips to make your passwords strong and unique based on a report by Dojo tech. So, follow our Astro tips and find out how to create a strong passwords below.

While horoscope star signs are definitely a serious offender when it comes to weak passwords, they are not even close to being the worst password option one can choose. A recent report analyzed UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) data “on over 100,000 breached passwords” to categorize the most vulnerable passwords that a person can create. Out of 30, the top five were pet names, names, animals, emotions and food. Zodiac signs made it to 20th position in the list with more than 204 incidents of breaches. That means 204 people with the password Gemini, Aries, Cancer, Scorpio or Capricorn were hacked in just the UK. And these are not just social media accounts that were hacked. Any account can be hacked from your personal and professional email, bank accounts and even accounts with access to government portals.

Weak passwords you should be avoiding

From Aries, ‘iloveyou' to cheeseburger, the list of weak passwords are endless. However, there are some passwords which are weaker than others. Yes, even worse than horoscope based passwords! In fact, these passwords are so bad that they made it to Dojo's top 5 most commonly hacked passwords list. And despite how silly you may think these are, millions of people are using these weak passwords. Check out the list.

1. 123456 (used by 23.2 million users)

2. 123456789 (7.7 million users)

3. Qwerty (3.8 million users)

4. Password (3.6 million users)

5. 1111111 (3.1 million users)

Please do not use these passwords.

The risk with horoscope based passwords

Just because horoscope star signs as passwords rank 20 out of 30 in the worst passwords list, does not mean that the risk associated with these passwords is any lesser. Since a person's Zodiac sign is decided by their date of birth, a very common piece of information, it is quite easy to guess someone's password. For example, if a person born in the later half of March or first half of April keeps the password Aries, then a hacker will have no problem guessing it. Not only Aries but all horoscope based passwords like Scorpio, Gemini, Capricorn, Aquarius, Cancer and others are at an exactly same risk. There are a total of 12 Astrology passwords so a hacker will not really need a lot of time to guess the right one. But don't worry. Take our astro tips with a difference given below that will help you pick a stronger and more unique password to keep the hackers at bay. This was reported by London-headquartered financial services firm Dojo came out with a report on ‘Top most hacked passwords'. Astrology tips are all very well and you can follow them freely, but not as passwords.

How to make your password strong and unique

Step 1:

Keep your passwords a mix of numbers, alphabets and special characters to make it hard to guess. Randomize these characters for better efficiency.

Step 2:

Make sure to have a password which is at least 8-12 characters long. Longer passwords will make it harder for a hacker to figure out correctly.

Step 3:

Use two-factor authentication or if possible multi factor authentication to have multiple hurdles before someone can hack into your account. Mobile OTP is a very good way to add layers to your password security.

Step 4:

Change your password regularly so even if your password was compromised, your account can stay safe.

Step 5:

Do not write down your passwords on cheque books, or other bank account books or papers you have. Do not send them on social media like WhatsApp, Facebook etc either.