PASSWORD 101

Passwords provide defense from unauthorized access to your computer and accounts. Strong passwords ensure confidentiality and security of stored electronic information.

Having weak passwords is like leaving the door of your house wide open and allowing burglars to come inside and take what is yours.

I remember once, someone hacked into my friend’s Friendster account back when almost everyone then used Friendster. The hacker used her account to send inappropriate and explicit messages and post really mean statuses on her Friendster wall.

For people today who do money transactions online, having weak passwords will make it easy for hackers to have access to your accounts and before you know it, your credit card bill may come to you with a lot of purchases you know nothing of.

Here are some tips on having strong and secure passwords:

Use a different password for each account you make. If you do this, even if someone successfully gains access into one of your accounts, you are sure the person doesn’t get access to all your other accounts. It would help if you only make accounts for the sites that you would actually use. This way, you won’t have to memorize so many different passwords.

Never give out your password. Your password should remain personal and only you should have access to the accounts you make.

Use a combination of lower case letters, upper case letters, special symbols, numbers, and even spaces. This way, it would be hard for others to guess your password and even software won’t be able to get it right easily.

Don’t use obvious passwords. Passwords like the word “password”, your birthday, a sibling, a pet, and all kinds of usual passwords a lot of people use because they are easy to remember are a no-no because these passwords are very easy to guess.

Beware of phishers. Be very mindful of the links you click. Usually phishers direct you to a site that looks like a legitimate site you use and makes you log in. When you do type in your information, they save it and voila! They already have your information.

Consider using a password generator. Password generators provide you with a random and very strong password. You won’t have to stress about thinking of a password to use and worrying about it not being strong enough because the password generating software does that for you.

In making passwords, longer and complicated are usually better. Yes, it may be hard to remember but it would ensure your confidentiality and security of your passwords and accounts.