Are your passwords strong enough?

From puppy names to favourite sports teams, almost half of Australians use an easy-to-guess password for their devices or applications. Experts are warning it's putting many at risk of being hacked.

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2013 photo illustration, hands type on a computer keyboard in Los Angeles. Frustration over passwords is as common across the age brackets. Bill Lidinsky, director of security and forensics at the School of Applied Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, recommends using a “simple mental algorithm,” including those that use a space, if a site allows that. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Source: AP / Damian Dovarganes/AP

New joint research from Telstra and YouGov has found three-quarters of Australians use the same password across multiple accounts.

Almost half ((46 per cent)) of Australians use dates of birth, pet names and their favourite sports teams as passwords, which experts say are among the most used and most predictable. 

As scam calls and cyber breaches continue to rise, Telstra's cyber security expert Darren Pauli says it's incredibly dangerous. Listen to this podcast to understand the ways you can secure your password.

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