Poll: Two thirds of users never change passwords
- — 15 October, 2008 08:36
A staggering 90 percent of respondents to a PC Advisor poll admit that they don't regularly change their online password.
When asked to respond to the statement 'I change my various online passwords', 25.8 percent said they make changes 'when I remember', and 64 percent admitted that they would change their password only if prompted. Get the full poll results here.
Just 30 (3.5 percent) of the 866 respondents to PC Advisor's September 2008 poll claimed that they change passwords daily. Two percent said they update pass phrases each week, and a further 4.8 percent of respondents update their passwords on a monthly basis.
In the e-commerce era, maintaining strong online passwords has become hugely important. Cybercriminals hunt for unencrypted Wi-Fi connections and use sophisticated keylogging malware to harvest valuable personal data, including passwords.
But recent research suggests that 60 percent of PC users are prepared to divulge their PC's password to a complete stranger. And 45 percent of respondents to a Symantec study used either their birthday, mother's maiden name or the name of their pet as a password.
