Have you ever forgotten the password to one of your online accounts and clicked on the “Forgot password?” link in order to reset your password?

If so, you might have been prompted to input the answer to the security question(s) you created when you opened the account.

Security questions are intended to identify you as the legitimate account owner in the event that you forget your password and need to reset it.

What’s more, they are also sometimes used as a second level of security to augment the security provided by the password. If you can’t answer the security question(s), you won’t be allowed to log in to the account, even if you know the password.

The concept is a good one, but if used incorrectly it can leave your account wide open to hackers and scammers.  [Read more…]