One of the first lessons we receive when it comes to using computers is to use a strong password.
Many years ago when we created an account, we didn’t think more than a few seconds about our password.
Many years ago our computer and account passwords consisted of 6 characters and we never worried about it.
This reminds me of what I have read about the movie WarGames with Matthew Broderick from 1983:
The release of this film resulted in a substantial spike in interest in computer hacking and a commensurate increase in actual penetration of computer systems. As a result, the industry was forced to make several seemingly obvious changes like creating accounts with default rather than no password on newly installed systems. This is because prior to the film’s release, it was just assumed most computer systems would only be accessed by authorized persons and the odds of someone breaking in was felt to be vanishingly low except for high value systems such as banks or the military.
You see, there was even a time where it was normal not to use a password.
Of course, nowadays this is unthinkable.
Even the iPhone which initially allowed for a 4 character passcode has increased its security by allowing a passcode of a minimum of 6 characters now.
To increase the level of friction and of course security, change your passcode into something stronger and longer.
To ensure you will remember that new strong passcode, use a sentence aka passphrase instead.
Use a memorable series of words as your new strong password.
A sentence like iloveeatingpancakes or better: Iloveeating5pancakes!
Check out the video and learn how to modify your iPhone’s passcode.
Think of a long and strong (but not hard to remember) passphrase so you have some time to think twice about unlocking your phone while entering it. (plus it is much harder to “hack”).