Ever been a victim of password theft? Have your account information been stolen and used by other people to make online transactions? Or have you lost some money due to unsecured passwords? If your answer is yes, read on and discover some simple ways to prevent password theft. For those of you who are lucky enough to be spared by these unscrupulous thieves, be vigilant and consider the following when thinking of a password:

1. Do not use your login name
Sure it is easier to remember when you use your name, birthday or similar information as your key but these are the worst kinds of security for your account. These data are the first things that the criminals will try to use to break your password.

2. Make it long
Each letter, number or character that you put in your password increases your defense against password filchers. If possible use 8 or more characters to guard your information. The maxim “the longer the better” truly applies in this case.

3. Mix and Match
Feel free to use the whole keyboard in making your password. Use letters, numbers, and symbols or if it is permitted, use space or the shift key to strengthen further your code.

4. Avoid series of letters or numbers
It may look like plain ingenuity to use 12345678 or 7777777 as your secret code but this technique has been cracked by password hackers. Remember the more diverse your code is the stronger protection it will give you.

5. Use different passwords for your multiple accounts
If any of your accounts has been broken, then similar accounts using the same password is at risk. It is imperative that you use different passwords for your accounts.

6. Change your password every 2 months or as you deem necessary
Changing your code regularly will help keep the thieves away. This is an easy yet an effective way to protect your important information.

7. Keep your password to yourself
This is the simplest and the most obvious way to keep your accounts away from harm. But sad to say, many of us have failed to do this. If possible do not write your password but if it cannot be avoided, protect your records and do not leave them lying around for everybody to see.  

Our passwords are the first line of defense against computer hackers. It is also the weakest in providing computer security. Password cracking programs continue to improve as you read this. Do your part and protect yourself from these crooks. Be vigilant, check your password(s) now and see if they pass these simple tips.

In most cases, these identity theft attacks may occur without you knowing it, until it becomes too late. To prevent this from happening, create strong passwords and keep them well protected. By sticking to the following guidelines, it will ensure that you will never encounter such attacks.

* Lengthy passwords – The more characters you add to your password – may it be letters, numbers or symbols – the safer your password will become. An average password should be at least eight or more characters.

* Character Combo – By combining letters, numbers or symbols, you are making it difficult for malicious users to guess your passwords.

* Character variations – If you use fewer kinds of characters in your password, the longer it should be. A 20-character password made up of random numbers and letters is about 35,000 times stronger than a 10-character password made up of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

* Maximize the keyboard – If you press down the “shift” button, a variety of symbols can be added to your password to make it stronger. These symbols can include punctuation marks or any symbols that are unique to your language.

* Avoid repeated characters – Passwords such as “4444”, “1234”, “abcdefghij”, or any adjacent letters on the keyboard does not make your passwords secure.

* Look-alike substitutions – Malicious users who may possibly crack your passwords cannot be fooled by look-alike replacements, such as replacing “o” with “0”, “s” with “$” or “a” with “@” as in “P@$$w0rd”. However, if you wish to include look-alike substations, strengthen your passwords by adding case variations, misspellings and character length.

* Login names – Avoid using any part of your name, social security number or birthday. These kinds of data are the first things criminals will try to guess.

In developing a strong password, think of a sentence that you will not forget, such as “my daughter is three feet tall”. If password systems support phrases, use your sentence as a password and add spaces between each character. Conversely, if the system cannot recognize phrases or sentences, convert the sentence into a password, such as “mditft” or “mdi3ft”.

After creating a strong password, always remember your passwords by heart or write them down. Contrary to popular belief, writing down passwords is not that dangerous – as long as you keep them safe from other users.

One of the best password keepers and also will create strong passwords for you is RoboForm. I have been using RoboForm for many years and now have several hundred passwords kept by RoboForm. RoboForm also has the ability to keep safe notes and recently the ability to sync your RoboForm data between several computers. I use RoboForm on my home computer, notebook computer, and my work computer with all of my passwords, logins, and notes kept in sync between my 3 computers. To find out more about RoboForm click here.