Doing any kind of business or shopping on the internet we are required to set a password for the accounts we use. When was the last time you reviewed these passwords? Are they secure? Can they be easily guessed? There are steps you can take to ensure your accounts are secure which mainly is your password used.
Is YOUR Password SECURE?
I want you to think about the passwords you use to protect your important information like your payment processor accounts, Bank Login, paypallogin, or how about passwords you use for your websites and affiliate login information.
Now can you tell me without a doubt that these passwords you use are secure? Do you create hard enough passwords that will prevent hackers from accessing your secure information?
Do you use words found in the dictionary in your password?Do you use your last name?How about your First name? How about your date of birth?Is your password less then 8 characters in length?
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions then I can tell you without a doubt YOUR password is NOT secure!
Here are some basic guidelines for creating AND KEEPING a secure password:
- Your password should be at least 8 characters in length. The longer the password the stronger it is.
- Your password should not contain words found in the dictionary. There are special tools that hackers use that can and will decode your passwords ESPECIALLY if you make it easy for them and use words found in the dictionary! - Your passwords should contain numbers and special characters. It is always wise to replace a letter with a character. This creates more strength in your password. For example instead of an A you could use @ or instead of an I you could use !. When using special characters like #&%!@ in with a 8 character or longer password you are creating a very secure password.
- You should not use familiar names or birthdates. This is a given.
- Your password should be easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. You do not want a password that is so hard to remember that you have to write it down. Writing it down means that others will have access to it. I know some even write all their passwords in a little book. Now tell me what happens if that book gets in the wrong hands?
- Keep your password a secret - Do not share your passwords with others
- Do NOT provide your password via email. There are many scams out there on the net that are referred to as "phishing", this is where you may receive a fraudulent email telling you that there is an issue with one of your online bank accounts, ebay account, Amazon account and even your paypal account. These emails look real and fool MANY people. The email will ask you to verify some information and to check your account. So you login using the URL they provide in the email, but little do you know, you have just provided your login information to the thieves/scam artists. They now have full access to your account information
- Do not use the same password over and over again. If one account is compromised and they get your password, then this would mean ALL of your accounts you use that password with are compromised.
- Change your password every 30 - 45 days. This ensures security. With your password changing often it is harder for would be hackers to crack your password and gain access to your information.
My partner taught me a little trick that works great. Think of a song or a sentence that is easy to remember.
For example: I have been married for 15 years to a wonderful Man .. Now you can translate that into a password by taking the fist letter of each word and creating your password. !HbmF15YT@Wm - Now that is a Good Secure password. Has Capital letters, small case letters plus special characters and is over 8 characters in length.
Another Example: I Love Money And want to have More - Which could be !LM&w2Hm
See how that is done?
In this day and age of Stolen identities and compromised Financial accounts, it is imperative to make strong passwords. Experiment and you can come up with passwords that will ensure your personal information is not stolen and that would be scammers can't use your online accounts for their illegal purposes.
Many of us create passwords quickly with not much thought and make sure it is easy to remember. But by doing so, we are creating a unsecured password that is perfect for thieves, scammers and hackers to get by.
We use passwords to secure our information... Then why use passwords that don't offer the optimal protection? Passwords NEED to be secure!
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