Xbox Live users encouraged to change passwords alongside security update

19 Jul 2012

Going by the old adage that prevention is better than a cure, Xbox Live general manager Alex Garden has detailed the service’s recent security updates and is encouraging users to update their security information in order to ensure these measures will be effective.

Recent security improvements include increased notifications to members whose accounts may be compromised, legal action taken against online posts of Xbox Live users’ information gathered from malware or phishing schemes, and sending unique codes to security phone numbers and secondary email addresses provided by members for verification.

The spring update of Xbox Live also came with security enhancements and, as Garden points out, these processes are dependent on members having valid, up-to-date security information in place.

So, in order to ensure the effectiveness of Xbox Live’s latest security update, the community of 40m members are encouraged to check and update their security information and security proofs (email addresses or phone numbers used for account verification).

Users are also advised to change their passwords, particularly if they haven’t done so recently. Garden reminds users of the importance of a unique and secure password, and to avoid the common, easily cracked ones. “Sadly, ‘password’ and ‘12345’ are still top of the most common password lists when we see breaches occur and passwords posted online,” he wrote on the Xbox Blogs.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com