Protecting Passwords

Your question is a far-ranging one.Ý First and foremost, be sure to select good passwords and protect them by not sharing them with anyone.Ý A "good" password is one that is not a common word that might not be found in a dictionary or a person's or a pet's name, for example.Ý A password that's based onÝa phrase that has meaning to you is usually good.Ý "I like Tuesday morning in the carpool" could yield a password of "IlTmitc" for instance.Ý And to make that even better you can substitute numbers for some of the letters to make it "1lTm1tc".ÝLonger passwords are better since they become more difficult to guess.

But that's only a part of the answer to the question.Ý It is best to have several different passwords for different purposes.Ý Many people use online services that require you to set up a username and password.Ý You might want to choose different passwords that can be used for certain purposes.Ý For instance, if you subscribe to some of the online discussion forums you might want to use the same password for those since there is usually very little that can be obtained from those services that might cause you personal problems, such as identity theft.Ý You'll want a separate password for any service that involves personal information, credit card information, or banking information.Ý Make sure these passwords are very secure and never, ever give them to anyone who might ask.

Further, when you enter one of these services where you are asked for a password, make sure that the request is being handled through a secure session.Ý If you are using a web browser like Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, check to see that the window shows that the session is locked and that the connection is through "https".Ý This will give you a high level of assurance that when you click the button to send your user ID and password the information that's sent is encrypted.Ý That way, even if someone does sniff the packets they will have a low probability of being able to decrypt it.

If you receive an e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate source, say from PayPal or your mortgage company, that asks you to connect to their web site to verify some information about yourself, perhaps because there was a breach of security at their site, delete the message immediately without clicking on any of the links, even if it sounds like a plausible problem.Ý There are no companies that run services that will ask you to do something like this.Ý Be wary of any e-mail you receive that contains a link to something, even if that e-mail appears to come from someone you know or a company with which you do business.

By following these guidelines you'll go a long way toward securing yourself and your computer.Ý Nothing is foolproof but the more proactive you can be in helping to determine if something you're seeing is a scam or real the better off you'll be.

Sincerely,

Tech Talk Staff