Cracking Your Code

Did you know that there are computer programs out there that can guess or "crack" your passwords for your online accounts? However, many times it doesn't even require a sophisticated program to crack your code. You make it easy for a hacker to learn your password because you pick things that are easy to remember: your street name, your pet's name, your birthday. Once someone purports to know that, they simply have to assume you've used that password for more accounts. (You haven't, have you?)

While it is a little extra work to maintain strong password integrity, it is essential to preventing your identity from being stolen. So, no common information that someone could guess. That's easy enough. Now, nothing in the dictionary. What?! Yes, it is true. Nothing that a simple dictionary matching program could find. So what is left?

Create words that are acronyms for something you like to do. For example, instead of "hoops", you could use "iltpbb" which stands for "I like to play basketball".
To mix it up even more and ensure even more security, combine caps with lower case: IlTpBB
One more step to up the security ante: combine letters with numbers and/or characters: 1!2pBb (notice the one and the exclamation mark look like an I and a lowercase L)

So, you have to be smarter than the average bear (as Yogi would say). The password strategies in your pic-i-nic basket have to outsmart the ranger--every time.

Book

Stopping identity theft : 10 easy steps to security

9781413309560

Computer Training