Sites both personal and commercial have been hacked off late, and it seems that hacking is becoming less of a challenge. Lately sites are hacking and subsequently sending the usernames and passwords of their “victims” around the web.

Most of us have one password that we use for all of our personal email sites, social media pages, internet banking and so on. The reason for this could be down to laziness or forgetfulness, it seems that general consensus is that having one password for all of our various profiles is logic, whereas in reality it’s actually pure recklessness.

Just a few years ago we had less than a handful of passwords and usernames to recall – however, in today’s world of living and working online, we have a multitude of websites that we are registered on and thus have passwords to.

After months of recent “attacks”, (reputable) websites are going the extra mile to ensure that they compare exposed email addresses against their own databases, however if the reputable can do this so, most certainly, can the more corrupt.

Of course with a password dump, most average people are pretty much at a loss as to what to do with it, besides manually going through every website which no doubt would prove a tedious job, and for what little return you may acquire. An automated tool is required, that most cannot acquire, and this tool runs the list against many websites. At present, as it stands – and thankfully – there are not many of these programs, however in the fast paced world of technology we are guaranteed that this will change.

We have come so far in a world of smart phones, ipads and technology that some still find unfeasible, that we know in the years to come it will become a simple matter of anyone (as opposed to the few at present) being able to run a password against a website and gain entry into such accounts. A scary thought when we stop and realise how much we have invested in those “secure” homes where all that keeps it safe is a simple, often repeated, password! It sounds so simple, and because of this – time is simply that – around the corner, because it will come and it will happen.

The idea of such a tool, such a program is a daunting one. The hijacking becomes open to all – and so even those whose intentions were good are now lured by possibility into a dark side. Does curiosity kill the cat? A list of login details against websites seems like a frightening invasion of one’s privacy, because it ultimately is.

So it comes down to this, eschew the lazy side of who you are and ensure that you have a unique password for every site you are registered on. In this event your security is stronger and you protect yourself from hijacking and the awful inconvenience that will follow. It may seem like a burden to have to remember a dozen or so passwords, but this burden beats that of having your privacy stood upon, of family being scared, of money being stolen and of your personal life becoming public.

The best idea would be to forget passwords and to move on to a more advanced, more unique way of protecting our personal data on the internet. But until that happens, be warned and be safe!