How Google made the password-struggle easier
Every user has experienced a loop of weak passwords or the struggle to remember passwords for different accounts at least once. Passwords who are supposed to put the user at peace by knowing that their data is safe and protected, they have become a separate headache. The majority of people can agree that passwords aren’t as much as necessary as they are evil.
The recommended practices to maintain the effectiveness of passwords can come off as excessively strangling – which makes users ignore the password guidelines, even if it comes at a cost of their security. Fortunately, Google-like companies are trying to make passwords easier to manage.
Password Check-up?
There are two common problems with passwords- weak passwords and repeating passwords. Even after it is as clear as a fact- that weak passwords like abc123 or QWERTY or password put user data at huge risk, people continue to use these. There are full-fledged data available on the internet discussing how common these kinds of passwords are. The second problem is of using the same passwords for multiple accounts. Often people pick one password and use it for their every social account. And this can be due to any reason- some can’t remember multiple passwords while others don’t want to.
Many applications and tools have been launched to curb these tendencies and make the internet a safer space; For example- password managers. Many different product designers have tackled password managers, including the team at Google. Google introduced a built-in password manager to a user’s Google account and Chrome browser in order to achieve this goal. Along with eliminating the need for a user to remember dozens of different passwords, it also simply makes them more convenient to input.
However, there doesn’t solve the weak password issue. Users were still using sub-par passwords so Google released another new feature, integrated into its password management solution. The feature helps users maintain proper password security and is known as Password Check-up.
How does Password Checkup work?
Password Check-up works by analyzing the passwords that you have saved to your Google Account and confidentially examining them for common issues, like:
Involvement in a security breach – if one of your passwords has been exposed in a third-party breach to hackers?
Password reuse, If a password repeats across different sites? That opens multiple accounts to easy misuse instead of only one account being breached.
Insufficient password strength, If someone will be able to guess your password easily, with just a little bit of online stalking to inform them?
With the help of these checks, Google can now inform users when a password needs to be changed, and these alerts will also pop up in reference. This feature is available as an extension of the Chrome Web Store in February of 2019. However, the features are directly integrated into Chrome and Google accounts due to the importance of security. You can try this new password tool by going to https://passwords.google.com while logged into your Google account.