often there is really only one thing
standing between your sensitive
information and criminals your password
if they get it they can get into bank
accounts and private files and wreak
havoc for this reason it's important to
know what makes a password strong and
secure chances are you use passwords
every day to open your computer log on
to your favorite websites to get work
done the easy route is to have a simple
password that works everywhere
unfortunately this can be a problem
criminals are very good at guessing
passwords some have computer programs
that can make millions of guesses until
something works and if they already know
information about you it's even easier
your job is to create a password that is
very hard to guess
here's how your first thought may be to
use a pet's name a birthdate and address
or parts of a phone number these things
are too easy for criminals to discover
so don't use them your password should
not include information about you
thankfully there are ways to have
memorable but hard to guess passwords
consider this in addition to single
words phrases can also be easy to
remember maybe it's a favorite song
lyric or quote an example is Jack and
Jill went up the hill that's easy to
remember right well your password is
there it's the first letter of each word
in this example this would be your
password that's not something that's
easily guessed here's why first it's not
in the dictionary this makes guessing it
harder there are about 60,000 words in
English a computer can test out those
words pretty quickly so don't use them
but there's more this password could
still be stronger by adding uppercase
letters numbers or special characters so
now this is a very strong password but
there's still a risk if you write it
down be careful where you keep it be
aware that someone can look over your
shoulder or find it in your trash giving
it to loved ones is also risky they may
not be as cautious as you are
only you should know your password
criminals may also try to fool you into
handing it over via phone calls never
tell anyone your password over the phone
and be careful when you get an email
that asks for a password it could be a
scam to help avoid problems don't use
the same password everywhere that's like
having one key that unlocks everything
you own the stakes are high if you lose
it also be careful if you use a computer
that is not yours let's say you check
email using a computer in a store
library or computer lab you log in check
email and walk away the next person to
use that computer now has access to your
email account and all the information in
it always remember to log out of each
site you visit on a computer that isn't
yours passwords are an essential part of
life online and if we're not careful
about keeping them secret they can cause
big problems by understanding the risks
and making passwords stronger we can
feel a little more secure