Comments on: Take The Poll: When Do You Change Your Email Password? http://www.watchingthenet.com/when-do-you-change-your-email-password.html Computer - Internet - Technology Tips And Tutorials Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:38:51 +0000 hourly 1 By: Watching The Net http://www.watchingthenet.com/when-do-you-change-your-email-password.html#comment-17049 Watching The Net Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:05:13 +0000 http://www.watchingthenet.com/?p=1159#comment-17049 @Mike Another reason for changing your password on a regular basis that you are over looking is the case where your account has been hacked into....but you don't know about it. If you never changed it the hacker has access for as long as they want. But, if you change it on a regular basis, the hacker won't know it until they can't access your account anymore. ...not all hackers break into accounts to cause immediate damage. Here's one <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/year-in-review/20081125_Mendte_gets_6_months_of_house_arrest.html" rel="nofollow">example</a>. @Mike

Another reason for changing your password on a regular basis that you are over looking is the case where your account has been hacked into….but you don't know about it.

If you never changed it the hacker has access for as long as they want. But, if you change it on a regular basis, the hacker won't know it until they can't access your account anymore.

…not all hackers break into accounts to cause immediate damage. Here's one example.

]]> By: mike http://www.watchingthenet.com/when-do-you-change-your-email-password.html#comment-17045 mike Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:24:00 +0000 http://www.watchingthenet.com/?p=1159#comment-17045 Changing your password often does not lessen the chances of being hacked. If a hacker attacks your account, the attack will take place over minutes or hours, not days or weeks. It will not matter if your password is 2 days old or 2 years old. Changing your password at a fixed interval presumes that the attack will take longer than that interval, a presumption that seems very unlikely. If the hacker is not successful quickly, he will move on and search for easier targets with weaker passwords. Your best defense is strong password, and a secure mail server that limits the number of password attempts per minute (so as to make dictionary attacks infeasible). Changing your password often does not lessen the chances of being hacked. If a hacker attacks your account, the attack will take place over minutes or hours, not days or weeks. It will not matter if your password is 2 days old or 2 years old. Changing your password at a fixed interval presumes that the attack will take longer than that interval, a presumption that seems very unlikely. If the hacker is not successful quickly, he will move on and search for easier targets with weaker passwords.

Your best defense is strong password, and a secure mail server that limits the number of password attempts per minute (so as to make dictionary attacks infeasible).

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