Stronger online passwords? A must.

Recently, it seems like every week some new website or company is being hacked.  With the abundance of web connected laptops, tablets, e-readers, and smartphones, the Internet and social networks are accessible 24/7/365 to most users.  

In the 4th quarter of 2011, Americans spent 38.6 hours online.  That's a work week!  But Canadians beat U.S. into shame with 45.3 hours in the same quarter.  What's that all aeboot!

With all that net presence, it's becoming more and more burdensome to remember all the passwords to secure access to web services.  Feeble, duplicate, obvious, and stupid passwords are the weakest link in online security.  LinkedIn is a perfect example: six million passwords were hacked and exposed last week forcing users to change their passwords.  Other sites like eHarmony and Last.fm shared the same fate.  

So what can one do to protect web accounts?

Avoid weak passwords.

PC Magazine puts toghether the list of the weakest passwords every year.  The 2011 winners are:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Avoid reusing passwords on multiple websites.

It sounds easy: you think of one amazing (in your mind) password and you use it on every website.  In reality, if someone hacks your email account and tries the same password on your bank site or social site, chances are they will succeed.  It's a pain in gluteus maximus but the reward is your security.

Keep your password private.

Obvious but surprisingly common.  Do you know how many people I've seen having password taped to the back of their laptop?  Too many. 

Use mnemonics to create strong passwords.

One lesson one can learn from Johnny Mnemonic movie, is that people have trouble remembering things.  With millions of interesting websites, who can remember all unique passwords?  Well, Johnny can, but he had a hard drive implanted in his head. 

You can use password managers built into web browsers or change a number at the end of your main password, but those are questionable ways of securing your access.

My favorite way for strong passwords is an abbreviation of a unique sentence.

Let's say you owned an orange 1969 Chevy Camaro in your twenties.  You loved that car.  Especially on Saturday nights.  What a sweet time!  Right?

So come up with your sentence: I loved my orange 1969 Chevy Camaro 

Now, abbreviate first letters mixing upper and lower case: ILmo1969CC

For more security, add special characters: My hot wife was right on the money!

Now, abbreviate: MHwwRot$!

You get the idea.
This simple way allows you to cherish your memories and have secure passwords.

Use longer passwords.

The longer the password, the harder it is for a hacker to crack it.  So use 8 or more characters, mixed with numbers, upper and lower case letters, and special characters. 

Delete emails asking for your credentials.

Legitimate websites will never ask for your credentials in the form of an email.  Or any form.  They will simply reset your password if needed.  So delete all emails asking for an account update or password, even if they appear legit.  To confirm, you can always call the customer service or the help desk to check if the company or site sent that email.

I invite you to comment and add your ideas to secure your online access.