"Password Protected"

IdentityTheft — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:32:00 GMT

Creating strong passwords to protect against identity theft.

In the battle to keep our personal and financial information out of the hands of identity thieves, passwords are frequently the last line of defense. To an identity thief, there is a virtual treasure-trove of information stored online. Web-based e-mail programs, online banking and brokerage sites, photo and document storage sites all store personal data and require a username and password to gain access. Some sites, such as online banking accounts, may provide additional protection through “secret questions” or other security features.

Even though I know all this, my number one criteria when choosing a password is making it easy to remember! I am guilty of using the same password for every site I can. Sometimes I have to choose a password for a site that requires that the password be formatted a certain way (i.e., must be at least 6 letters, with one number and one capital letter). Even though I know this is to help me choose a more secure password, I find it terribly annoying, mainly because I cannot use the one I use for every other site!

I suspect that I am not alone. Experts tell us that password-protected web sites are becoming more vulnerable because often people use the same passwords on numerous sites. One study found that over 30% of users recycle the same password for every site that they access.

A strong password can help protect against hackers and identity thieves. Here are some suggestions that I've found to help come up with passwords that can aid in preventing unwanted invasions of privacy, fraud or identity theft.

Don’t use personal information. Any part of your name, birthday, Social Security number, or similar information for your loved ones is a bad password choice.
Avoid sequences of letters or numbers such as “123” or “xyz.” Just as bad are sequences that occur via keys next to each other on the keyboard, such as “qwe.”
Most passwords are case sensitive, so use a mixture of upper case and lower case letters, as well as numbers.
If the site allows, use special characters such as $, #, and &.
The longer the password, the better. There are computerized “password cracking” programs out there that can easily defeat a password of seven characters or less.
Use different passwords for different accounts and applications. That way, if one password is breached, your other accounts won’t be put at risk too.
Write your passwords down and keep them in a secure place (secure places do not include post-it notes on your monitor, under your mouse pad or, worst of all, in a folder on your hard drive!)
Common words are easier to break than passwords that are not actual words. One good way to create a strong password is to pick an easily remembered word and misspell it or add special characters and numbers to it.
Many sites ask you to choose a security question, which is used when you have forgotten your password. While this can be a helpful feature, be careful when choosing your security question, as this can be a “back door” that lets unauthorized users gain access. Don't choose a question that can easily be answered by others.

Microsoft has an online password strength checker at: www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx. If your password is weak, change it! Remember, passwords are there to keep your personal and financial information secure – and even though they are sometimes a pain in the $@#!*, they are necessary tool in the battle against fraud and identity theft.

Search results matching tags 'identity theft protection', 'hackers', 'ID theft prevention', 'File sharing software', 'Identity theft prevention', and 'password'

"Password Protected"