1. Pick a Long Password

One of my tips for creating a secure password is to choose a long password. The longer the password, the harder it will be to crack. A long password may be harder to remember, but your overall online safety will be more safeguarded when you use longer passwords.

2. Choose Several Types of Characters

Many websites will require that you use a combination of numbers and letters. When creating a password, for the highest security you should use multiple types of characters! A good mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters will be a good password. There's less worry of being hacked when you mix characters!

3. Avoid Using Common Information

Never use common information as a password. Your birthday, your name, a spouse or child’s name or birthday or a pets name are all bad ideas to use as passwords. You should even steer clear of nicknames or any other commonly known information about you or anyone in your household. Those kinds of passwords are too easy for anyone to guess!

4. Never Use the Same Password Twice

We’re all guilty of this one…. using the same password is easy, since you only have one to remember! However, it puts you at a higher risk for being hacked. Once someone gains access to your eBay, they could get into your PayPal just as swiftly if you use the same passwords. And if you choose online banking, it’s a cinch for any shady person to slip in and slip out with all your money once they figure out your password. Make it harder, and use different passwords for everything!

5. Change Your Password Often

Websites that you log into often are at more of a risk to be hacked. Your computer saves information, and may even offer to save your password! Don’t accept this offer. You will just make it that much easier to be hacked! Change your passwords every 4-5 months, and more often for important websites, like online banking.

6. Use a Pass Phrase

Here’s a good tip to remember for making a unique and hard-to-crack password! Use a pass phrase. For example, “I love red sports cars”. Now, you can shorten the phrase and add in special characters to make it more unique. Write it with no spaces. This is an easy way to make a password you can remember but that is hard to guess.

7. Do Not Login on Public Computers

Public computers can be tricky. It’s no big deal to use one if you just need to print off some coupons or surf the web for info on your research paper. But you should try to avoid logging into email, Facebook, banking websites, and any other sites with personal info on a public computer at all costs! This keeps your password, and your identity secure. If you absolutely MUST log in on a public computer, be sure and log out, clear the browser, and change your password as soon as possible afterwards, on a privately owned computer.

Passwords are tricky business, and should be treated with care! Everything is online these days, and while that makes life much more convenient, it also presents dangers of having your identity stolen or your bank accounts cleaned out. Take steps to prevent this from happening! How do you exercise caution when it comes to passwords online?