5 Tips for Creating Strong Passwords That Are Easy to Use

Today, there is a story that those who are following the tabloid story of Twilight star Kristen Stewart's affair with the director of her new Snow White movie are vulnerable to malware attacks.  Seems that evildoers like to tag their malware (viruses and the like) to popular topics -- and this Twilight saga split of the Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson is right up their alley.

One of my clients is very concerned about this, since her kids love Twitter and Facebook and use her laptop routinely - and in doing so, they've already opened the door to one or more viruses which her tech support believes gained access through those shrunk links that appear on tweets and the like.  It's called "clickjacking."

Which brings us to passwords.  My client's biggest concern was protecting her financial sites as well as her blogging account.  Could the virus circumvent her passwords?  How do you create a strong password?  How can you make passwords that are strong and that are also easy to use (and remember)?

Passwords need to be easy for you to remember and hard for those computer villains to figure out, even with their sneaky password finding software.  Don't share them with anyone.  Don't put them on sticky notes on your monitor.  Remember to change them -- say on the 1st of every month.

Here are five (5) tips for creating strong, easy to use passwords:

1.  Use a quote or a short sentence that is personal to you.

Carnegie Mellon's Computer Science Department recommends sentences such as "I have two kids: Jack and Jill."  For sites that only allow a certain number of characters, they suggest you memorize a short version of this sentence and use it:  "Ih2K:JaJ"

2.  Use two unrelated words and then add some tweaks

Tweaks?  They can be whatever works for you: like added punctuation and a capital letter or two which will be easy for you to remember.

Carnegie Mellon gives an example here of  "book and goat" which then becomes "bo!ok29goat"

3.  Use different passwords, and change them often.

PCMag recommends that you change your passwords as often as you change your underwear.  PCMag also recommends that you use different passwords for different sites: never use the same password for different things. Don't use the same password for your online banking and your email account.  That's just asking for trouble.

4.  Move your hands on the keyboard.

PCMag has another good idea:  once you have your secret password, move your hands on your keyboard so they are one row up or one column over -- then type.

5.  Make things easier to remember by having your own password themes.

ComputerWorld suggests having a personal theme to your passwords that relate to a personal life event, such as the birth of a child.   OneMorePush and IceChips were given as some of their examples here.

What I'm Doing With My Passwords These Days.

Not too long ago, I was hit by an evildoer that did get one of my email account passwords.  However, the damage wasn't too bad -- it was an account I had set up to receive all those newsletters, daily quotes, etc. and not my personal or professional stuff.   Still, it was scary enough that I spent most of a workday setting up all new passwords and a password-changing schedule (not on the 1st).  I feel safer for it, and I think you will, too.

Another thing I did:  I stopped opening those shrunken links.  If the tweet doesn't give me enough info for me to google the site, and if I'm not interested enough to do a Google search, then so be it.  Turns out to be a nice time saving tool as well as a security strategy.

For more:

Microsoft suggestions on passwords.

Microsoft Password Strength Checker (input your password for evaluation). 

My MozyPro Update - After the Crash

Last December, I was so happy with MozyPro. This month, not so much.

I'll still keep using MozyPro as my remote backup service but I've learned some things about MozyPro that I thought I'd share here (for all the gorey details on my July computer crashes - two computer crashes, back to back), check out my post over at Everyday Simplicity:

Bottom line:

1. MozyPro did save me - I did get all most of my files. I have my emails, I have my word processing documents, I have my publisher files. I may have lost my TurboTax and QuickBooks files (most of this was in hardcopy already, however) as well as some website designs made with a special webdesign software provided by GoDaddy.

2. MozyPro's tech support was helpful and human - when I finally tracked them down.

MOZYPRO TECHNICAL SUPPORT CAN BE REACHED AT 866-789-6699.

3. MozyPro doesn't always download even if that window tells you it does.

4. I will keep using MozyPro, but I won't be as trusting of the software. I'll double check the reality of those backups. And, I'll keep that tech support number handy.

5. In addition to MozyPro, I'll also keep hard copies of all my important, current workweek stuff - including emails, invoices, works in process - on a flash drive. I would have been in a mess if this had happened in the middle of the workweek, and I had to be down three days just to get myself up and running again. In a way, it was a blessing that this happened over a long holiday weekend (except for cancelling that picnic/BBQ ....).

Dell Saves the Day: You Can Still Buy XP

First, there was the nightmare: as of June 30, 2008, the last XP was being shipped out of Microsoft, and we'd all be faced with Vista in future computer buys. (For details on why this might be a horror, check out PCMag's "Vista's 11 Pillars of Failure" by John Dvorak.)

But wait!

Silicon Valley Insider reports that Dell has come to the rescue ... Dell is reporting a loophole in its licensing agreement with Microsoft that allows Dell to continue offering XP as an operating system.

For details, read the SVI reports of June 30 and July 3, with their links.

Thanks to Vodkapundit for the heads up.

Great Finds: Online Backup - I Love MozyPro

After years of steadfastly remaining loyal to backup solutions that I could hold in my hand - but which proved time-consuming and frustrating and annoying - I gave in.

I investigated online backup services, where you send encrypted copies of your files to be stored on their servers, and chose MozyPro.

I love MozyPro. It's easy to install. It will backup daily. Hourly. Whenever I tell it to do so. Quietly, in the background, it's protecting me right now.

And, if I want to see what's been stored and when, I just hit the little icon in the toolbar, and I see the long list. There are my emails. There are my Word documents. There is a spreadsheet.

PLUS - and this has to be the best part - if I get confused or scared or have a question, I can call and speak with a real, live human 24/7. 365 days a year. FOR FREE.

And, yes! One that speaks English as their first language. One who is patient and kind and knowledgeable, not a snoot doing his best David Spade impression.

Oh, and price. PRICE!! I'm paying less that $15/month for 20GB of storage.

I love MozyPro. So did lots of impressive reviewers, and I think you will, too.

(There's also a free version, but I'm not sure what bells and whistles you get tho I do know there's no 24/7/365 technical support.)