If you use a computer and want to keep your data safe.. use a password.
If you use the internet and want to keep your identity secure.. use a password.
If you want that password to be effective.. better make it a good one.
10 tips for creating effective passwords
Passwords are used every day for a variety of reasons and an effective password is vital in protecting you from identity thieves and scammers.
Here are 10 tips to help you create effective passwords -
- Use a number and / or punctuation
- Change your password every 3 months or so
- Use different passwords for different sites
- Always use at least 8 characters
- Mix upper and lower case letters
- Use a phrase with no spaces (don’t use proper spelling, i.e. ‘dictionary words’ though)
- Use multiple words strung together separated by punctuation
- Never use personal information (such as your name, someone you know, etc)
- Never use common single words (for example, cat, blue, etc)
- Never share your passwords with anyone
Can you think of any other tips for creating an effective password?
Share this post: Tweet It | Facebook It | Stumble It | Digg It | Delicious It
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Use a password manager (either online of program).
It will generate complex and unpredictable passwords for each different sites, and you will only have to remember one difficult one to access the password manager.
They will event permit you to log into sites without having to type it (useful to defeat keyloggers. And if you want to access them from abroad your home (in case of an online password manager), you can even use “on time” passwords, that even if someone see it, it cannot be reused.
“..and there is no # key on a Mac key board.” << You learn something new every day!
Good advice as ever there SideLong.
There are programs you can use for remembering passwords too – I’m going to look into them in a not too distant post.
Make the password memorable to yourself – otherwise you will tend to break one or more of the other rules.
Are they / were they your friend?
It’s unfortunate but that is something that happens all too frequently.
Never save it to the browser as well.
Nice points to consider..
nope. It was the first affiliate program I joined and soon my pc was loaded with viruses and trojans.
If you had perservered with them would you have made a worthwhile amount?
It was some eight years back.Someone told me they were making money from it and introduced me to this website
nocsdotus
I used to sign up for all the paid to click and read emails, paid survey programs and I was racking my brains to remember ids and passwords but never really got anywhere near to payout
Why is #3 difficult? Do you visit a lot of sites that need passwords?
Your tip is a good one!
Thanks for the tips, Scam. #3 is a bit difficult to follow for me
I think everyone knows this – uncheck remember password if there are more users for the same computer
Thanks tone, that’s another good point.
That, of course, is an excellent point!
And further more – you have to be careful which symbols and puntuation marks you use – some of them aren’t allowed and there is no # key on a Mac key board.
As passwords are always going out of date and one needs sop many of them:
– at the same time as you make up the password consider the ‘clue’ that will remind you of it.
– make up passwords in a sequence – book names, song titles – that will help you remember them.
I agree, password managers are great, though there are a few rogue ones out there that will actually steal your passwords so put in some research time before choosing one!!
{ 4 trackbacks }