Taking the Hassle Out of Technology
Secure Passwords
Be honest. Are you using some form of your pet's name, your birthday or anniversary, or some other easy-to-remember password? Have you changed your password lately? Yeah, it can be a pain in the but to change your passwords, but if you get complacent you may be sorry. Let's look at how to create a secure password, then we'll talk about remembering them and keeping them handy (without putting them on a sticky note stuck to your monitor).
A secure password is made up of numbers, letters and in some cases certain special characters like the @ or ! sign. Passwords are case sensitive, so pAssword is not the same as Password. Before you start thinking of cute variations on "password" or "secret" let me tell you those have all been guessed and are some of the first a hacker will try. So broaden your thinking. What numbers or symbols sound like letters? Substitute these numbers and symbols into everyday words. "Deviate" becomes "devi8" or "dV8"; A two looks like a Z. a 3 looks like a backwards E. See where this is going? But a good password is going to have at least six characters, but better ones have 8 - 16. TAnd you want to use random capital and lower case letters, Use these passwords on your applications such as Quicken or QuickBooks and for your banking and online shopping. See if you can translate these
L3d2ePplin
f0gH@roCKs
c0KaK0la
So now you have a cool password. How do you remember it? There are a couple of programs we like. One is called eWallet and stores your passwords securely on your PC and, if you have one, your PDA or Smartphone. There's also KeyWallet - a nice free application. With these you only have to remember one password.
The most drastic measure is encrypting your entire hard drive. Windows Vista and Mac OS X have native encrytion programs you can activate. But if you want to review yor options and learn a little more before you go down this slippery slope, check out this article.
Good luck, and stay safe!
A secure password is made up of numbers, letters and in some cases certain special characters like the @ or ! sign. Passwords are case sensitive, so pAssword is not the same as Password. Before you start thinking of cute variations on "password" or "secret" let me tell you those have all been guessed and are some of the first a hacker will try. So broaden your thinking. What numbers or symbols sound like letters? Substitute these numbers and symbols into everyday words. "Deviate" becomes "devi8" or "dV8"; A two looks like a Z. a 3 looks like a backwards E. See where this is going? But a good password is going to have at least six characters, but better ones have 8 - 16. TAnd you want to use random capital and lower case letters, Use these passwords on your applications such as Quicken or QuickBooks and for your banking and online shopping. See if you can translate these
L3d2ePplin
f0gH@roCKs
c0KaK0la
So now you have a cool password. How do you remember it? There are a couple of programs we like. One is called eWallet and stores your passwords securely on your PC and, if you have one, your PDA or Smartphone. There's also KeyWallet - a nice free application. With these you only have to remember one password.
The most drastic measure is encrypting your entire hard drive. Windows Vista and Mac OS X have native encrytion programs you can activate. But if you want to review yor options and learn a little more before you go down this slippery slope, check out this article.
Good luck, and stay safe!
1 Comment
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Comment by Cheryl Michaels on March 1, 2009 at 6:43pm - Sven, this is great information! I have wondered about secure passwords and had no idea how to get this vital information. Valuable service from you, thanks!
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© 2009 Created by Sven Mogelgaard, PC Paramedic on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
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