McAfee and Partners Launch Passwordday.org to Help Consumers Protect Personal Information Online

Santa Clara, CA / Singapore – May 7, 2014 – In observance of the annual World Password Day on May 7th,McAfee, part of Intel Security, and its partners are leading an effort to help educate consumers worldwide on the importance of password safety in the wake of the multiple global security breaches. Consumers are encouraged to take the World Password Day pledge to change or strengthen their passwords by using the newly launched, http://www.passwordday.org, a dedicated destination for password education, powered by Intel Security.

Ninety percent of all passwords are vulnerable to being hacked.¹ In the wake of recent high-profile data breaches, it is important now more than ever for consumers to be vigilant about strengthening and changing their passwords to protect their personal information. Last year, more than 170 organizations supported World Password Day by sharing password safety messages. Over 1 million passwords were assessed and 32,000 people took the pledge to strengthen their passwords. This year, McAfee along with Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Terra, UOL, CCE, Windstream, Positivo Informática's Digital Business Area and others are encouraging consumers once again to take the time to educate themselves about password safety and be more proactive about securing their personal information.

To accompany World Password Day, consumers can now visit Passwordday.org to learn more about password safety. The site includes features such as, a password blaster web video game, password strength meter, McAfee’s Heartbleed bug checker tool, animated educational slideshow, tips and tricks for upgrading passwords, and the Official World Password Day pledge.

"While cyber security systems and threats are getting more sophisticated, we need to remind ourselves that having strong and secure passwords remains the foundation of keeping our digital assets safe. Therefore we want to encourage computer and internet users around the world to re-evaluate their current habits and whether they are doing the simple, but necessary steps of protecting their passwords,” said David Freer, Vice President, Consumer – APAC at McAfee. “With this year’s World Password Day, we hope to stress just how important strong passwords are and how something so easily taken for granted can make the biggest difference in keeping their data and privacy protected.”

To accompany World Password Day, consumers can now visit Passwordday.org to learn more about password safety. The site includes features such as, a password blaster web video game, password strength meter, McAfee’s Heartbleed bug checker tool, animated educational slideshow, tips and tricks for upgrading passwords, and the Official World Password Day pledge.

“Security breaches large and small are becoming rampant across the world, so consumers need to be aware of just how important it is to use multiple strong passwords,” said Michelle Dennedy, chief privacy officer at McAfee, part of Intel Security. “Our goal this World Password Day is to educate consumers on ways they can proactively protect their identities, and other personal information and assets, through a series of simple steps.”

Simple tips for password protection: