Protect Yourself Online! Choose the Right Password
Never more than now are we hearing about online crime. Not a day goes past without some mention on the news regarding identity theft, bank accounts hacked, cloning credit cards, the list is almost endless. According to reliable sources online crime is one of the biggest growth areas of criminal activity. The repercussions of such crime stretches far further than one might think. Not only has your money been taken, your name used in nefarious circumstance but the paranoia which insets after being such a victim means you withdraw from using vital resources.
So are you making it easy to be targeted? Simple mistakes made through a lazy approach can cost you dearly.
The most common mistake is using the same passwords for all your accounts. Yes this is easy to remember, but it opens the door to criminals. If they are able to access one account, all become available. Vary those passwords; we can all come up with significant words which can be remembered.
Lengthen the password. Although not easy, the use of a short password can be guessed over time. When using a word of significant length the odds of someone guessing or accessing through luck is considerably higher.
Do not use familiar names, celebrities, pets, family members and the such are most commonly hacked. If you a fanatical fan of a certain actor who would not choose to go there first to guess your password.
The English language is bountiful and varied. There are many words that you may recall but not use in everyday life. These words make perfect passwords. Mix them up, co-join two or three memorable words that will surely confound anyone trying to guess.
The use of birthdays, or any other memorable number is definitely a no go area. These numbers will almost certainly be easily guessed. Numbers on the whole should be totally frowned upon when choosing a password.
If you have the opportunity to utilise case sensitive passwords then it is advisable to do so. Mix and match smaller and low case letters to leave a trail no one could logically guess.
Of course if you truly have trouble remembering passwords that have no daily meaning to you there is a number of password programs that are designed to help. A quick search on the internet will detail these programs for you use.
Remember be safe. Although it may be a tad inconvenient those that have fallen victim to online crime certainly wish they had paid more attention.
Tags: identity theft, internet security, password protection