copyright © 2007, by Karyn Greenstreet. All
rights reserved.
As a small
business owner, you can't afford to have your identity
or business information stolen. Using the internet to
help run your business is absolutely necessary, but
being lax about the passwords you use on banking,
hosting and other business sites is short-sighted and
dangerous.
So, what makes a
good, strong password, one that a hacker is unlikely to
discover? Microsoft recommends several strategies
in this article.
We all know not to
use our children or pet's name. In addition, don't use any word
in the dictionary, and refrain from using common words with
numbers at the beginning or end of them (like 25melon or
george153) as your password.
On systems that ask you to change
your password every 30 days, don't re-use passwords you've used
in the past. Even if a site does not require you to change your
password monthly, it's a good idea to change it every few months
anyway.
When creating a password, use 7 or 8 characters, and a
combination of alphabetical characters (A to Z), numerical
characters (0 to 9), and symbols. Using upper and lower case
letters makes it even stronger.
For instance, TiMp39AyCgI
is a great password. How in the world would I remember such a
complicated password?
-
TIMP stands
for "this is my password"
-
39 was the
year my mother was born
-
AYCGI stands
for "and you can't get it"
See? It can be
easy to create and remember strong passwords if you just get a
little creative.
Finally, don't store your passwords in a file on your PC. If
your PC is compromised by hackers via the internet, or if your
computer is stolen, people can
easily find and open that file, and steal all your passwords in
one fell-swoop. If you must create a file on your PC to store
your passwords, password-protect THAT file with a strong
password; or better yet, encrypt the file.
And remember, if you ever have to give any of these passwords to
employees or contractors, change them as soon as the employee or
contractor no longer needs to use them.
Want to test your password to see if it's strong enough?
Use this password tester.
