Saturday, June 25, 2011

Tips for a strong password

 With the large amount of sites being hacked and passwords being stolen I thought it would be a good idea to create a guide with some tips for a strong password.

 1. Never use the same password at different sites: This is the tip that has been getting people in trouble recently. Its gone so far people are using their Neopets password as their paypal password. When someone hacks a site and releases all the passwords hackers go out and try to use these passwords and user IDs on every site they can think of to mess with your account.


 2. Don't be simple: Using passwords like qwerty or 123456 or password is not a good idea. Even though these passwords are a bad idea they are some of the most popular passwords used. If you use a really simple password you greatly increase your chance of being hacked.

 3. Use Letters and Numbers: Using a mixture of letters and numbers to make it harder to be guessed. If you use letters its a good idea for them to be uppercase and lower case.

 4. Don't be personal: Using the name of your dog, cat, pet, or other personal information is not a good idea in a password. It makes it simpler for hackers to try to learn about you and makes guessing your password more simpler

 5. Don't add strangers on Facebook: They could be hackers trying to learn more about you.

 6. Don't fall for phishing emails: Banks and other companies don't normally send you an email asking you for your password so watch out for these phishing scams.

 7. Keep up to date on hacks: Watch out in the news for reports of sites you are a member of being hacked so you know when you need to change your passwords.

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