About Password Safety

Think about your computer and Internet usage in terms of a home. You have doors and locks, perhaps multiple locks and even deadbolts on some doors. It would probably be pretty difficult for you to pick the lock in your deadbolt; your password should also be difficult for a potential hacker to pick. If you compare your personal computer with your home, you might get a better understanding of why it is so important to choose good passwords. Your computer passwords should be complicated, even if it just means adding a few extra number or letters.

Thieves and hackers are usually pretty good at picking passwords, especially simple and easy passwords. Although a seasoned hacker has his or her ways of cracking even the most difficult passwords, a more complicated password will certainly take more time. Unless someone really, really wants to get into your personal information, it is doubtful that the hacker will spend a significant amount of time on unlocking your code. Many programs and sites will allow you to use a combination of numbers, letters, alphabetized and lowercase characters. Some systems are now requiring the use of number/letter combinations for their password security. Regardless of whether or not you are required to use complicated passwords, you should always practice this for your own safety. You should also consider changing your password every thirty to sixty days or so as a further deterrent to the hackers.

You can find an enormous amount of information on password security on the Web. Many experts have written on the importance of choosing a virtually uncrackable password that will leave hackers scratching their heads. Most hackers on spend only a very few minutes trying to crack into the average system. Governments and other agencies that harbor sensitive information often take very drastic and outstanding security measures, but the rest of us do not often take our passwords seriously. There have even been cases where, in order to prove a point, a hacker broke the password of a database that held thousands of other passwords; even this long and very difficult password only took 15 minutes to crack.

When you are deciding on an Internet, computer or database password, think of something that would be difficult for anyone else to figure out. It is also a bad idea, and frequently prohibited, to use a “dictionary word”; this means you need to choose something unique that is not a word someone could guess. Keep this in mind but also create a password that you can remember. It is never a good idea to write passwords down on paper. A good password will contain a combination of uppercase and lowercase letter and numbers in a format that you can remember without writing it down and without it being easily cracked by trial and error hacking.

You probably cannot think of many people who enjoy coming up with new passwords and separate passwords for every program. The simple fact is that very, very few of us enjoy this frustrating routine of coming up with a password we can remember. This is especially true if you use multiple databases, for instance, at work. It is imperative, no matter how annoying, to create new passwords for every email addresses, every file requiring one and for every database you use. If a hacker did, by chance, crack your complicated password, he or she could simply cut and paste the code into every program that you use and thereby gaining easy access to all of your personal and sensitive information.

Along with anti-virus software, firewalls and spy ware blockers, the creation of complicated and difficult-to-guess passwords are essential elements to keeping yourself safe while using computers. You do, however, have the upper hand in this situation. The more you know and understand about computer and Internet security the better protected you will be. You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, guides, tips and suggestions about computer-related security by searching the Internet. These resources can give you some tips about how to create an awesome password that you can remember without writing down. It is your own responsibility to protect your information and files from the activity of hackers.

Source: www.securitytutorial.com