If you have an Apple or an Android phone—and you probably do—you have the option of locking your phone using a PIN code. With most of these phones, you can choose a four-digit PIN or a six-digit PIN.

It’s no secret that smartphone PIN codes are not perfect, but new research suggests they might be next to worthless. A team of scientists at Newcastle University in the U.K. was able to guess a user’s ...

Guess how long it would take a computer to brute-force an 8-number password. The answer: instantly. That's according to Hive Systems' Password Table, which shows how shockingly quick passwords of ...

There's nothing particularly difficult about cracking a smartphone's four-digit PIN code. All it takes is a pair of thumbs and enough persistence to try all 10,000 combinations. But hackers hoping to ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Davey Winder is a veteran cybersecurity writer, hacker and analyst. Keeping your iPhone or Android device secure is a no-brainer.

You’ve likely seen a list of top 25 passwords that get reused time and time again – “password” is a usual suspect – but what about phone PIN numbers? How ...

Personal identification numbers (PINs) are vital for protecting our online banking accounts, devices, and sensitive information. And while it may seem like it is simple to make a four-digit PIN, you ...

All of you should have a PIN code or some other form of authentication on your smartphone, preventing unauthorized people from accessing your device and serving as a security measure for theft. But ...