While most of us have the common sense to protect our phones with some sort of passcode, we tend to default to simple phrases like “0000” or “1234.” Saurabh Harit, an IT professional and smartphone expert, said at a recent security conference in Vancouver that “If you put some effort into setting a good password, you can protect your phone…I know it’s not very convenient to type an eight-digit password or an alpha-numeric password…but that’s the least you can do to protect yourself.”
There are only 10,000 possible combinations in a four digit numerical code, which makes it possible for anyone with enough time and patience to crack your phone. The number of combinations rises to 1 million if you use 6 digits, and 100 million if you use 8 digits. While this won’t protect against determined tech savvy thieves, it will make it harder for unwanted users to access your personal information. Sadly, we all can’t rely on a thief to incriminate himself with a selfie.