Protecting your intellectual property with sophisticated security software and hi-tech firewalls has become exceedingly accessible. But these security measures are too often compromised due to a very elementary factor… weak passwords.

MoST contains some of the most durable security features including measures like an adaptive firewall that actively blacklists IP addresses displaying suspicious activity, and permanently blocking IP blocks known to be used by attackers. To make the most of these features you must ensure that your password is strong.

If you’re unsure on the strength of your password, the first step is to test it. There are plenty of password strength tests on the internet; including how secure is my password, the password meter and password checker (WARNING: never enter your username or email address along with a password in any password checker). If your password strength isn’t so great, it’s probably time to seriously consider changing it. 

The top 5 most common passwords

(based off edition.cnn.com 2019 annual ranking list, though a Google search tends to list the same ones for nearly all results)

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. qwerty
4. password
5. 111111

Even if yours isn’t on this list now, it might be the time to think about the quality of your passwords. 

Things you must consider when choosing your new password

• Don’t use your own name, user name or a family member’s name - One of the easiest ways to access someone's account is to guess their password. Starting with your name or the name of your nearest and dearest would be a logical place to start.
  
• Don’t use the same password more than once –  You may have conjured a really strong password… so good that you’re tempted to use it across your accounts. However, using the same password more than once makes it that much easier for someone else to find and use it.
• Do include unique characters – the more diverse the character range, the stronger the password. You can use a password generator, like this one, that lets you choose the characters to include in your new password.
• Use a trustworthy password manager - you should stop relying on your memory for retaining all of your passwords, as this typically results in you only creating ones simple enough to remember. Instead try a reliable password manager to store your passwords. The beauty of password managers is that they themselves cannot see your passwords. Usually you have a master password that is used to encrypt all your other passwords so even the creators of the software can’t see them.

How to change your password in MoST 

You’ll need full administration permissions in order to be able to change your password, or to ‘force’ other users to change their password.

To force password change

1. Click on the 'Users and Permissions' menu item from the MoST tool bar. A drop-down menu will appear.
2. Hover over the menu item 'User Accounts'. A sub-menu will appear.
3. Click 'Modify an Account' to open the dialog window.
4. Select the user you want to modify from the 'Username' dropdown list. 
5. Tick the ‘Force Password Change’ and click 'OK'.
6. The next time the user logs in they will be prompted to change their password.

To change your own password

1. Open the ‘Modify an Account’ window.
2. Select your 'Username' from the dropdown list. 
3. Enter a new password in the ‘Password’ field and click ‘OK’.

These actions can only be performed by someone with full administrative rights. For all other users, please contact your website administrator if you want to change your password.

To read more about the risks associated with re-using passwords, check out this blog post over at PixelPrivacy.