Home > Computer Articles > Password Safety

Keeping Your Passwords Safe

Modern technology has allowed consumers the ability to conduct a wide range of financial transactions online. However, with the convenience of conducting online transactions, comes a certain amount of risk. It is important that the financial information you are transmitting is done so securely, and most retailers and financial institutions utilize data encryption methods to keep your information safe on your smartphone / cell phone, on desktop computers, and on Refurbished Laptops. However, one of the most important components, passwords, is sometime not taken seriously by consumers.

When creating a password for online transactions, you should use a good, strong password. A good password, also called a strong password, is a password that would be difficult to crack if someone attempted online access. In other words, the password should not be easily guessed.

How Your Password Gets Stolen

In addition to having a good password, users need to be aware of some of the ways that thieves and hackers can attempt to steal your password. They include guessing the password based on names, dates of birth and other personal information of the user; Dictionary attempts where the criminal runs a computer program that tries to match the password to the account ID; Phishing attempts where criminals either call or send an e-mail claiming to be from the merchant or financial organization and asking them to confirm the log-in information; forcibly taking the log-in information by use of threats and intimidation; and shoulder surfing where someone watches to see your log-in information.

Creating A Strong Password

In order to create a strong password, you need to have a mixture of alphabet and numbers. You should also use at least one capital letter and even a symbol to make this a very strong password. A strong password should also have at least 8 characters. Here are some examples of strong passwords:

R3ve5@ble

seRv3!tY

pR0m!siNg

4orGotT3n!

To protect yourself online, you need to avoid weak passwords. A password would be weak if it has less than 8 characters, only had letters or numbers (but not both), if it was a common word found in a dictionary, name of a family member or pet, or if it were an easy to identify the user.

How To Protect Your Password

In addition to the password strength, you need to protect your password. Here are a few suggestions on how to protect your password:

· Never write a password down and leave it in a place where others have access. A password should be a secret code that only you know.

· Never tell anyone your password. You may think it’s OK to tell a family member or friend, but you never know who could be overhearing your conversation.

· Never save a password on a website. It may be more convenient for you, but if someone else uses the same computer, they may be able to access that website.

· Keep up to date on your anti-virus software. If your computer contracts a virus, the malicious program could be monitoring your keystrokes and may be able to uncover your password, so regularly updating and running your anti-virus program is recommended.

Additional Password Safety Resources

A good, strong password can be the best defense in keeping unwanted criminals away from your online accounts. To assist in understanding passwords, we have put together a collection of resources:

• Choosing a Good Password
• Keeping Safe with Strong Passwords
• Weak Passwords
• Password Guidelines
• Choosing and Protecting Passwords
• Password Cracking
• Password Protection
• Consumer Password Protection
• ATM Crimes
• Identity Theft Protection
• Computer Crime Protection
• Information Protection

Our website has articles on many computer-related topics, including Refurbished Laptops, netbooks, smartphones, desktop computers, computer security and online privacy.