Almost everywhere you go on the internet these days you needs a password. You need one to secure your site, buy something on Ebay or to check your email. Not only do you have to have a password, you need to have a strong password.
In fact the word “password” itself is a little outdated. Passwords really shouldn’t be words at all, anymore.If you want your information to be safe, you need to get creative. A strong password should have between 8 and 14 characters and even longer if possible. Your password should consist of a random selection of characters, and ideally shouldn’t contain a word that can be found in a dictionary. Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting a password:
Use the whole keyboard when creating your password.
The most random set of keys don’t come with thought. Don’t think about what your password will look like just type. Be sure to include capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters like the tilde (that little squiggly guy at the top left of most keyboards ~). If you make it easy, chances are the password crackers will figure it out. If you need to write the password down so you remember it, that’s ok! You can even use a random password creator that will create strong passwords for you. All you have to do is keep track of them.
Don’t use the same password in more than one place.
Lots of people get caught up with this one. If a password hacker gets your Hotmail password, it won’t be quite as bad if that’s the only place you use that particular password. If you use that same password on multiple sites, then the hackers have a better chance of getting access to everything.
Change your passwords often.
Not necessarily as often as you change socks, but passwords should be changed about every month or so. Some people do it every week, I say change your passwords at least every other month. If your password is a good size (14 random characters is a good size) then it could be used for longer.
Isn’t this a lot of unnecessary work?
Unfortunately we live in a society where theft is rampant, and it’s just the way it is. When you get too comfortable, you may find that someone is holding your blog hostage.
Have you had your site hacked into? Have a horror story to share with us? Help us curb identity theft and stop hackers by sharing your story in the comment area.
P.S. – I use 1Password to manage passwords on my mac. If you’re on a Windows machine, check out Roboform. Both are secure and super reliable!
