Password dilemma haunts internet users every day

A sizable chunk of internet users are in a quandary when choosing passwords, a new report suggests.

Some are opting for simple passwords that are easy to remember but also easy to hack.

On the flip side, others go for complex, more secure passwords that are different for every account but are more likely to be forgotten.

Respondents to Kaspersky Lab’s latest consumer security risks survey found that one in ten use the same password for all their accounts - almost a fifth of these had faced the threat of a breach and had an online account successfully hacked in the past 12 months.

More than a quarter of the survey sample (28 per cent) recognised the value of using a different password for each online account.

However, more than a third (38 per cent) said that they would not be able to quickly restore online account information if it was lost, potentially resulting in stress or frustration.

Additionally, half of consumers store passwords insecurely, with 23 per cent writing them in a notepad, or a sticker stored somewhere near their computer (14 per cent).

Kaspersky Lab believes consumers can work around their password problem by using a password manager, which lets users have strong passwords without having to remember complicated strings of words with special characters or physically jot them down.