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In my article below I gives some tips on how to construct a strong password for
your home or business computer. A well chosen password is one element of what should be
a multi layered approach to computer security. A good password should be
something you can remember. Don't write your password down on a slip of
paper and stuff it in your desk drawer or under your keyboard. If you do
this you defeat the purpose of a good password. Have a great day, Tom
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| A strong password is an essential element to your personal and computer privacy and
security. For a password to be strong, it should:
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| 1) Be at least eight characters long. Some of the more popular password cracking
programs (freely available on the Internet) begin cracking with a default of 8
characters. You may want to consider creating passwords with at least 10 characters
or more.
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| 2) Contain characters from each of the following three groups: |
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| Group |
Examples |
| Letters |
A, B, C... (and a, b, c...) (use upper and lowercase) |
| Numbers |
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
| Symbols |
` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + - = { } | [ ] \ : " ; ' < > ? , . / |
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When you create a password for your computer DO NOT use words
that can be found in any dictionary, in any language. DO NOT use the same password
on both your home and office computer. DO NOT use the same password on your
computer that you use on any Internet account. DO NOT use a predictable pattern,
example: tommy27, tommy28, for multiple accounts. DO NOT use the same password
on more than one computer. DO NOT use the same or similar password within a 12
month period. Never use variations of previous passwords. Never create passwords
using personal information of any kind. DO NOT use your name, user name, favorite
color or sport, birthdate, social security number, pets name or child's name.
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When you create your password try to select the characters for the password in a
random manner. THE MORE RANDOM the order and variety of the numbers, letters and
symbols in your password THE STRONGER THE PASSWORD BECOMES.
Use "The Password Meter"
as a guide to measure the strength/quality of passwords you create. As I
mention in the beginning of this article a good password should be something you
can remember. Don't write your password down on a slip of paper and stuff
it in your desk drawer or under your keyboard. If you do this you defeat the
purpose of a good password. Change the passwords you use on a regular/scheduled
basis. This limits the potential damage that could be done if a password to one
of your accounts is stolen/compromised.
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keeping track of your passwords
If you use the Internet to do your banking, shopping or pay your bills you probably have
at least a few usernames/passwords you need to remember. How do you remember all of
these passwords? A "password manager" is a small program you install on your computer
that stores all your usernames, passwords in one place. Instead of remembering multiple
passwords you only need to remember one password to open the password manager. The password
manager you choose should protect your passwords and usernames by encrypting
(encoding) them. Many of today's computer viruses/Trojans are
designed to steal passwords, usernames, e-mail addresses, credit card and other personal
information from the infected computer. Encryption will help protect your passwords/usernames
from unauthorized access.
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There are quite a few companies that produce/sell password managers. One of my favorites
is a FREE program called Password Agent Lite. The company
also sells an inexpensive version of this program called "Password Agent" that offers
even more features. Both programs allow you to set reminders when passwords should be changed.
They also provide the functionality to create passwords for you. You can vary the
complexity and length of each password the program creates for you to suit your needs.
The password generation feature will allow you to use more complicated passwords for
each account. You can change from using easily cracked or guessed passwords
like "password", "god", "sex", "love", "admin", "your name" to more secure passwords
like "qxG&dY"e7!" or "2(c9%,t"ckFq".
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Be certain that the generated password meets the standards I've outlined
in this article. As I mention above, the password manager you use should encrypt
any passwords and usernames you store in it. There are different types and strengths of
encryption, some better/stronger than others. Take a moment to read
tips for choosing encryption software in my article on
encryption.
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| NOTE: Some systems and services have specific requirements and
limitations placed on the length and complexity of the passwords you can use.
For example, some systems or services may not allow you to use certain special
characters (,,#.&&/-!,) when you construct your passwords. Review the password
creation guidelines required by the company or service.
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