At this point, many people have more website accounts than they can readily count. They manage their finances, keep in touch with their friends and even order their groceries from their Apple notebooks and laptops. But, in spite of that, a new study shows that most online passwords pose little challenge to cybercriminals who are eager to get their hands on personal data. That means that even brand new devices could fall victim to spyware attacks from hacked accounts.

Jay Bonneau, a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge in England, has recently released a report showing how startlingly easy user passwords are to crack. Bonneau analyzed the personal security codes from 70 million Yahoo accounts and found that "1 percent of passwords could be cracked in less than 10 guesses," according to the report.

Bonneau found that users across the board stubbornly chose low security passwords, even for accounts that would give hackers direct access to their finances.

But, although online security was lacking for every demographic, Bonneau noted that younger generations - millenials, particularly - were the easiest targets for cyberattacks. Despite the fact (or perhaps because of it) that they probably had more online accounts to manage - Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, to name a few - Bonneau found that they generally chose weaker passwords than their Baby Boomer counterparts. 

And because most of their devices are constantly connected to one network or another, many younger users are putting their new hardware at risk by failing to adequately protect their many internet accounts by selecting complex passwords.

There are many options available for anyone who has recently bought a new Sony Vaio, netbook One or Samsung laptop and would like to protect it from falling victim to a web-based infection. To review the wide range of security measures that can be taken, customers can consult a knowledgeable retailer like PortableOne.