Everybody needs to have one. Everybody usually even has
more than one. Everybody uses them several times a day.
It is scary to think that such a little thing could have
such a huge impact on the way we live our lives. What is
this canny device? Your every day, run-of-the-mill password.
When the topic is brought up in conversation, a person's
mind usually goes to one of two places. They either think
of an elaborate and confusing system of numbers and letters
or they are brought back to their childhood with words they
learned in grade school. Like with everything in life though,
there's a right way to go about using passwords and a wrong
way. Having a good password and being able to remember it
are times that are few and far between in these busy days,
but they can happen. They say behind every great man, stands
a great woman. Well, behind every great password is a good
reason to remember it.
Don't be fooled though by convincing yourself that your
mother's maiden name is the best way to go though. Most
good passwords are a series of numbers and letters mixed
together. If your data you're protecting is important to
you, never use a word found out of the dictionary. Most
password crackers can run programs to go through every word
found in your old faithful Webster's Desk Dictionary in
the matter of seconds. Instead use, for an example, your
hometown spelled backwards plus your last three numbers
on your drivers license.
One of the questions I have probably been asked most since
starting here at TotalChoice Hosting is why do we assign
your account with such a long confusing password? The reason
is that we are trying to do our best to keep your account
and your information only accessible to you. If we gave
out passwords such as "cat" and "dog",
your information could be cracked into before you even got
started uploading your site!
The best password is one that can't be easily remembered
by anybody else other than yourself. Another rule of thumb
you must remember is never use the same password twice.
If some body has gotten your password, and they know you
have an account somewhere else, the password they know is
going to be the first one they try.
Now you've got a password that; wait a minute, what was
that password again? Yes, it's happened to the best of us.
It even leads us into our next topic of discussion. Always
make a backup list of your passwords. I would recommend
that you don't keep this list on your computer at all. Instead
write it down on a small sheet of paper, and jam it into
the back of your sock drawer. Would you open your purse
or wallet to some stranger off the street and say, "Here,
take what you want!". In the world of passwords, security
is key.
I once had an old Yahoo account that I hadn't logged into
in about six months, and I thought it'd be fun to see what
kind of mail I might have there, or if any of my old contacts
still had me listed on that name. Well, after several hours
of trying to think of every password in the book I could
have ever used, I never did get into that Yahoo account.
Now, if I were to have thought of making a backup list of
the password when I signed up, I wouldn't have wasted several
hours on one trivial and quickly forgotten password.
In conclusion the best password is something only you would
know or remember, and if it's not then back it up. In a
world that it seems you need a password or login name to
do anything, take my advice and learn from the mistakes
of others.
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