A brute force attack is a method of attacking a computer that uses overwhelming computational power to break through a security mechanism.
Brute force attacks are often used to crack passwords or other forms of authentication (see Passwordless Authentication: A Complete Guide [2022]). For example, if you choose a weak password for your email, your computer may be attacked by a brute force attack.
You can prevent brute force attacks by using complex passwords and a security solution that automatically generates and checks these passwords.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to prevent brute force attacks, read on.
5 Ways to Prevent Brute Force Attacks
1. Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are 16 characters or more that are difficult to guess. Using a combination of symbols, upper and lower case letters, and numbers makes strong passwords even harder to guess. A brute force attack is performed against a password’s key components. By using complex passwords, you can make them difficult to crack.
If you use simple or 8-character passwords, your computer may be vulnerable to brute force attacks. Of course, you can never go overboard; 12 characters are fine for most occasions. However, your password must be unique from other users in your organization. If you become aware of an account with the same username and password as another user in your organization, change it immediately.
2. Use Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) uses an extra second factor to confirm that a user is the rightful owner of an account. One way of ensuring this is by using a smartphone application. The users will have to access their account via the app on their smartphone and enter the password on their computer or have it saved on their phone.
When someone tries to access your account via phone, they will go to a website that checks whether they have entered the correct password. It then sends you a message via SMS (on the registered phone. In fact, it may not be possible for someone who knows your password to access your account if you are using two-factor authentication and you do not answer or click on the prompt on your phone.
3. Limit Account Access to Only Those Who Need It
If you do not need administrative rights on an account, leave it closed and disable access. Doing so will save you the hassle of changing passwords often. With admin rights, you can add or remove other users as they wish. If people do not have access to your administrative account, they will not be able to modify anything in your system manually or delete it.
They can only delete files with admin privileges or outmoded documents that you have saved. This should ensure that users cannot log in from outside accounts and break into your systems by clicking on email links or attachments sent by someone else in their group email alias.
4. Change Your Passwords Regularly
It is important to change passwords regularly. This helps reduce the risk of a hack from an unauthorized party getting hold of information about your current password, such as its length and character set used.
You may wonder why it is wise to use a password longer than 16 characters long when there are tools set up to brute force attacks against systems where limited-length passwords are used (usually demonstrated by hackers during hacks). However, using more characters gives you more options to preserve the integrity of your password if it is compromised.
5. Use a VPN and Encryption
It is recommended that you use a virtual private network (VPN) to connect to the internet when using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection or an open hotspot at airports, hotels, and cafes. The task of blocking an IP address using a firewall or local router can be cumbersome and complex, so it would be much easier if you used one of these VPN tools.
These tools make all data connections appear as if they come from a different country. In most cases, the service provider assigns you to a server in another country different from where your computer is located. This means that even with the information being sent to your computer via Wi-Fi, it appears as if it comes from somewhere else. Your IP address will remain blocked until the VPN server’s location is known and matched against its own list.
Therefore, there is no way for someone outside your network to know what kind of website you are visiting. It can only happen if they get inside and see where it will send data streams through their network security firewall using their own IP address.
So, What is Considered a Brute Force Cyber Attack?
Businesses of all types and sizes face brute force attacks daily. These attacks generally involve harvesting input from multiple sources to build a more accurate user profile attempting to access their website or login information. With the above ways, you can protect your company’s data and intellectual property without a hassle.
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