Using Strong Passwords To Prevent Online Identity Theft |
A Guide to Creating Good Passwords
Creating a "good" password is one of the key ways you can protect yourself against identity theft. A good password will be easy to remember but difficult to guess. Unfortunately, people with malicious intent are constantly trying to break passwords to gain access to sensitive accounts. Don't make it easy for them, but do make it easy for yourself.
Creating Passwords: What Not to Do
While longer passwords can help protect yourself against identity theft by making it harder for criminals to find your password, sometimes this is not possible or feasible. When creating a new password, most security experts suggest avoiding the use of:
- Phone numbers
- Social Security numbers
- Birthdates
- Names of:
- Spouses
- Boyfriends or girlfriends
- Children
- Pets
- Your username or login and any variation of it
- All letters
- All numbers
Some security experts go as far as to suggest avoiding using any word in the dictionary, including foreign dictionaries, as well as the use of passwords with double letters or numbers.
Creating an Easy to Remember, Difficult to Crack Password
When setting up your account, never leave the password field blank.
As a child, did you create with secret codes with friends or siblings? One way to make your password more difficult to crack is by substituting letters with characters and numbers. Using numbers and characters that resemble the letters they are replacing sometimes makes it easier to remember.
Another technique some use is to take the first letters of the words in a favorite line of poetry or a verse of song. "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both" becomes "2RDiaYW,aS1cnTB."
The best passwords are at least eight characters in length, and contain a combination of numbers, keyboard characters and both upper- and lower-case letters.
Remembering Your Password
To help remember your new password, use it immediately by logging in and out several times. Another way to recall the password is to write it down on a piece of paper. The act of writing it down sometimes etches it better in your mind. Just remember to shred that piece of paper.
ID Vault remembers all of your usernames and passwords, so you don't have to.
The Worst Password Hall of Fame
While we've outlined a few techniques to create your own unique passwords, here are a few of the commonly used "bad" passwords. Don't use these!
- Password
- Drowssap
- Admin
- 123456
- The name of your company or department
Finally, when setting up your account, never leave the password field blank.
Change Your Password
Your employer may force you to change your password several times a year or more. Experts vary in their recommendations, but changing your password every 30 to 90 days helps prevent identity theft.
With your personal accounts, like your email and banking accounts and shopping sites, resist the urge to use the same password for all your sites and please, do change your password.
Safeguard Your Password
While we can point out ways to create and remember your passwords in order to help stop ID theft, it's wise to use ID Vault to store your passwords safely. Never share your password information with anyone. You may also wish to consider storing your most valuable account information in a safe deposit box as a back up, along with other important items.
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