Importance of a Good Password

Importance of a Good Password
Mark Kaminski - www.iSimplify3.com | http://invisusdirect.com/aff_home.html

Passwords are simply secret words, or at best secret phrases that protect your online bank account, credit card accounts, stocks, and other important sensitive information. They can be compromised in many ways. For example, do you:

• Create passwords that can be guessed?
• Write them down?
• Share them with co-workers, friends or relatives?
• Store them in a word document on your computer?

Each of these vulnerabilities makes it easier for someone to acquire the password and gain access to personal, customer or business information. Here are a few examples of what not to use as a password:

• Spouse's name
• Pet's name
• Birthday
• High School
• Favorite movie/game/book/food
• Your name, spouse's name, pet's name or anyone's name spelled backwards

These types of passwords only take seconds to break. Do not use anything that is easily guessed by someone who knows you or by someone who is experienced in "social networking." So what makes a good password? There are a few things to remember when choosing a "hard-to-break" password:

• " The longer the password, the longer it takes a hacker to break it.
• " Adding numbers to the password will increase the hacking time greatly.
• " Include characters such as @ or # in your password.

It is important to understand that no password is unbreakable. Everything can be broken if given time. But by following these three points, your password will become practically impossible to break. Meaning it would literally take months for a hacker with a password cracking program to acquire it. Having a strong password acts as a deterrent and hackers will move on to an easier target.

If you have a hard time remembering passwords, you can go the extra mile and create a text document, put all your passwords in it, encrypt it, store it on a CD and then delete it off of your computer. This will give you a backup in case you forget how to log into PayPal.com or Amazon.com. Just remember to not keep a copy of your passwords on your computer.

Here is an example of a weak, strong and stronger password using a word from the dictionary.

• Weak password: chainsaw
• Strong password: ch@!ns@w
  • Note that the vowels were replaced by characters that resemble how they look.
• Stronger password: ch@!ns@w91
  • Numbers were added to the end to make it longer and to make the cracking more complex.

Here are some tips to help prevent your strong password from being cracked:

• Change it on a regular basis. A good rule of thumb is to change it every 90 days.
• Never reuse old passwords.
• Stay away from "phishing" emails that try to trick you into giving up your account information.
  • Do not click on links in emails that take you to a login screen. Make sure you go to the website manually.

You don't want a hacker emptying your online bank account or using your credit cards to buy that nice HDTV they've always wanted, so come up with your own "hard-to-break" passwords using these simple techniques and protect your important information.

Mark Kaminski
www.iSimplify3.com | http://invisusdirect.com/aff_home.html