What is a password?
Every time you log onto your computer or email you use (or should use) a password. When you use your ATM/Bank card and most credit cards today, you are asked to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN), passwords. When you sign up online for a service or newsletter you are asked to create a password. The list of passwords and PINs just get longer everyday and keeping track of all of the number, letter, and word combinations may be confusing at times.
Passwords are the most common means of authentication, but if you don't choose good passwords and keep them confidential, it is almost as bad as not having a password at all. Many email and store services have been successfully broken into by crooks because of poor or simple passwords.
How do you choose a good password?
Most people use PINs and passwords that are easy to remember, like your birthday, phone number or social security number. This also makes it easier for a crook to guess or break the password. How easy is it to find this information out about somebody? Lots of people put some of this information online on social media sites. Hint: Limit what you put up on the social media sites and protect your identity. Do not use simple words that are easy to guess like password or secret and never use your pets name fluffy or your favourite hobby golf. These simple passwords are easy for someone to guess even if they dont know you.
Good passwords are a combination of letters and numbers. But you must be able to remember them to use them. One method of creating a stronger password would be to use a capital letter in the word and a number. For example golf , could become Golfer1 or #1Golfer. Both of these would be a stronger password. Longer passwords are stronger than shorter ones because there are more characters to guess.
Now that you have created a good password dont use it for all your banking and email. If a thief does guess it, he would have access to all of your accounts. You should use these ideas to develop separate passwords for each of your accounts.
Every time you log onto your computer or email you use (or should use) a password. When you use your ATM/Bank card and most credit cards today, you are asked to enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN), passwords. When you sign up online for a service or newsletter you are asked to create a password. The list of passwords and PINs just get longer everyday and keeping track of all of the number, letter, and word combinations may be confusing at times.
Passwords are the most common means of authentication, but if you don't choose good passwords and keep them confidential, it is almost as bad as not having a password at all. Many email and store services have been successfully broken into by crooks because of poor or simple passwords.
How do you choose a good password?
Most people use PINs and passwords that are easy to remember, like your birthday, phone number or social security number. This also makes it easier for a crook to guess or break the password. How easy is it to find this information out about somebody? Lots of people put some of this information online on social media sites. Hint: Limit what you put up on the social media sites and protect your identity. Do not use simple words that are easy to guess like password or secret and never use your pets name fluffy or your favourite hobby golf. These simple passwords are easy for someone to guess even if they dont know you.
Good passwords are a combination of letters and numbers. But you must be able to remember them to use them. One method of creating a stronger password would be to use a capital letter in the word and a number. For example golf , could become Golfer1 or #1Golfer. Both of these would be a stronger password. Longer passwords are stronger than shorter ones because there are more characters to guess.
Now that you have created a good password dont use it for all your banking and email. If a thief does guess it, he would have access to all of your accounts. You should use these ideas to develop separate passwords for each of your accounts.
Source...