Passwords: Too Tough to Crack: Part 1

There are several times in your life where you have to prove who you are one way or another. Otherwise, anybody could be "you."

As all too many people are aware of, we've seen a sharp increase in Identity Theft in the 21st century. The idea of someone pretending to be you is nothing new, but fooling a computer is a little easier then fooling a bank teller. And the issue has become so widespread that several companies have emerged that are dedicated solely to prevent Identity Theft. I will not go into the inner workings of how ID theft happens, if anything that should be in a post of it's own.

By and large, passwords are the key to keeping your ID in the right hands online. Sure, there are those new biometric scanners that scan your fingerprint, but passwords are still the most popular way to do it. This is because passwords are cheap and easy to implement, in contrast with those scanners, which are often pricey at best and a pain to install. But, passwords can also be very easy to crack as well. Because if you have been on the internet for more then a few years, odds are you have accumulated quite a few accounts that require a password. And the more you have, the better odds are you have used the same password for more then one thing. Don't believe me? Take a look. Go through your stock of passwords, in written form or in your head.

Done? OK. Considering this, is there any doubt that because your passwords are valuable, they are targeted by hackers? If you answered Yes, you are correct. So, what are we gonna do about it?

Step 1: Use a strong password. Remember that big stack of passwords we went through earlier? Think back and you may remember that the system rejected your first attempt at a password because it was too short. So we enter in a longer password, or a password that the system suggested for us. The issue? We cannot remember long and convoluted passwords. So quite a few of us decide to use keyboard patterns or movie names for passwords. But this is not going to make your password stronger because of the fact that these are often the first things password crackers test. Making a strong password may seem daunting at first, but there are tools to help you. Go to http://howsecureismypassword.net/ and type in a password you might consider using for yours (don't worry, it is completely safe.) If the password you use right now can be cracked instantly or in a short amount of time, it may be time to change to something more complex.

Keep the following in mind when you go to make that stronger password.

1. Make it strong (perhaps 12 characters.)
2. Use numbers and maybe a symbol if you can.
3. Make random letters in your password CaPitaLized.
4. Use words that are memorable to you, but not very easy for others to guess.

Stay tuned for Part 2.