Passwords - Change Them Or Get Identity Theft?

First off, let me just say this: Yes, passwords are important. Many of us tell ourselves that they are just formalities, or that you don't store information online or on a hard drive, but the facts are this: Someone, somewhere, "keeps your record on file." I'm not saying we should all have less faith in our neighbors, but someone is keeping close tabs on you, and there is no harm in protecting yourself. So change your password. It is the simplest and least expensive identity and privacy protection you can get.



So, now that that diatribe is out of the way, let's be frank about the actual password. In short, make it a good one. Yup, having your child's and/or pet's name as your password, not such a good idea. And don't even try to keep inquiring minds away with "love" or "god."

For some good places to find auto-generating password checkers, please go to a search engine and type in "free password checkers. Even Microsoft has a good one there.

Big media conglomerates are susceptible to password cracking! The latest brick to crack under pressure? Search for "Google email cracking."

And having the same password for all things (computer admin, email, social media, shared accounts, billing and bank services) is not practical or fruitful.

One solution:

Password Managers to help keep the login info within reach. Our 2 Preferred Password Managers: Roboform and 1Password.

Want to generate your own passwords, but can't think of easy way to do it? Password Generator. With this one, you can save a copy of page on your desktop - so it doesn't access internet when setting passwords.

Clyde Lerner, owner and chief technical writer, has been running his own IT firm for over 10 years. He and his tech help "Relieve All of Your Technology Stress." They provide remote support (worldwide) and onsite visits (San Francisco Bay Area only). They give instructional webinars and teach many of their clients - one/one - how to get more from their Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked In) strategies. Call today for an appointment - 408.732.8500. We can be found at http://www.ITMComputing.com.

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