Experts at SophosLabs have warned computer users that using the same password on multiple websites greatly increases the risk of falling victim to hackers, following news that players of a global online game have been asked to change their passwords due to a security breach.
Players of the “Second Life” online fantasy game were asked to change their passwords after a hacker broke into a database holding information about the game´s 650,000 users. This information included addresses, passwords and encrypted credit card details. According to Sophos, while changing passwords will prevent criminals from gaining access to users´ Second Life accounts, they could still be at risk if they use the same password for other websites.
A recent Sophos web poll uncovered that 41 percent of business PC users admitted to using the same password all the time, while just 14 percent use a different password for every website they access.
Sophos continues to recommend companies protect their desktops and servers with automatically updated anti-virus protection, and educate their employees on safe computing, including the intelligent use of passwords.