How to Choose a Password for You!

Alright everyone, you have just opened up your account with a large bank! You were asked to create a password, so you just thought of using something simple, such as "password", "qwerty", or "123", some of the most common passwords. The problem is, 2 days after creating your account, you have found that all of your money has been stolen! You need to have a proper password that no person (or nowadays, robot), can guess easily.

When you start to think about making a password for yourself, you have to follow some guidelines. A password should not be easy, or hard, but memorable. It should be something that you can remember, but it would not be easy to guess. You should make it at least 8 characters to start with. With 8 characters, there is a possibility of having 2,821,109,907,456 different password combinations of letters and numbers! Also when creating your password, you should always mix letters and numbers in, so it is even more complicated to guess. For example, the password "love", would be extremely easy to guess. However, "love13579" would be a lot harder to guess. Taking the extra step and adding some numbers can really pay off in the long run. Also do not make your password something about yourself, because people you know could guess it. Do not make it your name, your dog's name, or your birthday. And remember, ALWAYS remember, that you should NEVER use your username for your password. That is always the first thing that a hacker tries to get, so keep that in mind.

Ok, so you have thought of a password! Now write it down, and keep it in your sock drawer. No, but really, keep it written down and in a safe place (not saved on your computer). Just in case you forget it, it should be written down. But, if you do forget it, many sites have recovery questions that you set when you make the account. What most people do is actually put the correct answers for the questions. It is better to randomly make up stuff, like a color or a name or a number, as long as it has nothing to do with the question. Take those answers, write them down, and put them in a safe place also. It will pay off when you have to remember your account information.

Alright, that is pretty much it. When you have created your password, use Microsoft's Password Strength Tester, at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx, to test the strength of your password! Thank you for reading my guide, and good luck!