Dangers of reusing passwords – Know why is it bad and how you can avoid it

Abeerah Hashim Last updated: January 9, 2023 Read time: 16 minutes

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Do you also reuse passwords? After reading this guide on the dangers of reusing passwords, you’ll surely change your habit and create secure passwords.

Sneak peek at reusing passwords

Using the same passwords across all your accounts looks convenient since it saves you from the hassle of remembering a bunch of credentials. But password reuse exposes all your accounts to criminal hackers if any of your accounts get hacked. Therefore, it is essential to set up strong and unique passwords for every account. Then, if remembering them gets difficult, you can use a robust password manager to store all your passwords.

There was a time when using or communicating with passwords or passcodes used to be a genius thing. In fact, most of you would have felt like a secret agent when asked to use a password for the first time.

But, today, you have to use password for almost everything you do online. That’s why reusing passwords is common now.

However, that’s where the problem exists.

Of course, we can’t remember so many passwords for every other account. But, using the same password on more than one accounts isn’t a good idea at all.

In reality, this habit is the main reason why almost every individual today gets hacked in one or the other way.

Wondering what’s the big deal here? Let’s take a look at why password reuse is a dangerous practice. We’ll also guide you about how you can protect your accounts with secure and unique passwords without having to memorize them all.

Dangers of reusing a password

Although, using the same password for multiple accounts saves us from remembering lots of passwords. You just have to type “abc123” to sign-in, whether it is your Facebook account, email, or online banking account.

Sounds pretty easy, isn’t it?

Let us tell you that this is a big no-no if you really want your accounts to remain secure.

Why? Let’s take a look.

1. Risk to multiple accounts

Are you wondering why reusing passwords is bad for all your online accounts?

Imagine you have set a solid password for your bank account. But you also used it for your emails to protect your email account with a secure password.

While your bank isn’t likely to suffer any breach, your email service might be vulnerable, and vice versa.

So, if an attacker successfully targets your email service provider and gets your password, no matter how strong it is, the attacker can subsequently gain access to all accounts set up on that email.

Now, if you have also reused the password on other accounts (which you’re likely to do), the attacker can take over all other accounts too.

And things are even more dangerous if your password isn’t a secure one. It’s because your password may likely be in use by other users as well. In that case, your password’s exposure risks thousands or millions of other users’ accounts globally.