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| secure passwords |
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If you've ever lost your wallet, you know the sense of vulnerability that comes with it. Someone might be walking around with your identification, pretending to be you. If someone stole your passwords, they could do the same thing online. A hacker could be opening new credit card accounts, applying for mortgages, or chatting online disguised as you and you wouldn't know it until it was too late.
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Are you using weak passwords?You probably already know not to create passwords using any combination of consecutive numbers or letters such as "12345678", "lmnopqrs", or adjacent letters on your keyboard such as "qwerty." And you've probably heard that using your login name, your spouse's name, or your birthday as your password are also big no-nos. But did you know that you should never use a word that can be found in the dictionary, in any language? That's right. Hackers use sophisticated tools that can rapidly guess passwords based on words in the dictionary in different languages, even common words spelled backwards. If you use a common word as your password, you might think you're protected if you replace letters of that word with numbers or symbols that look like the letters such as M1cr0$0ft or P@ssw0rd. Unfortunately, hackers know these tricks too.
Create strong passwords that you can rememberYou could come up with a completely random combination of numbers and symbols, but that's not very practical. How would you remember it? Chances are you'd write it down and keep it in the top drawer of your desk and then it's no longer such a great password after all. A strong password is one that is at least eight characters, includes a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and is easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. 
1. Use an Internet firewall 2. Get regular computer updates 3. Use up-to-date anti-virus software |
Create a strong passphrase The easiest way to create a strong password that you won't have to write down is to come up with a passphrase. A passphrase is a sentence that you can remember, like "My son Aiden is three years older than my daughter Anna." You can make a pretty strong password by using the first letter of each word of the sentence. For example, msaityotmda. However, you can make this password even stronger by using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that look like letters. For example, using the same memorable sentence and a few tricks, your password is now M$8ni3y0tmd@. If you still think that's too hard to remember, you could try a more common phrase, such as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." If you're using a common phrase make sure to inject at least one number or symbol into the password. Such as U(t@0DnT. Keep your passwords a secret Keeping your passwords safe means keeping them a secret. Don't give them to friends and don't write them down and keep them at your desk or in an unprotected file on your computer. Do not give away your passwords or any other sensitive data such as bank or credit card details in response to scam e-mails. Manage your passwords Remember, a strong password is one you change frequently.
Useful Sources1. F-Secure Firewall & Security Software 2. McAfee Anti-Virus & Security Software 3. Microsoft Windows Update 4. Microsoft Office Update |
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