Creating Secure Complex Passwords

In a world of password protected websites and internet applications, we often forget that online information is vulnerable to theft. While installing security software, or relying on a firewall helps to increase online security, we cannot rule out the chance of Facebook accounts or email passwords being cracked.Yesterday cyber experts uncovered the theft of two million accounts from around the globe. Users from the United States, Germany and Singapore, to name a few had their passwords for Yahoo, Google, Twitter and Facebook stolen and posted on line for others to find.  The experts at Trustwave’s SpiderLabs discovered the security breach when they looked into a server in the Netherlands used by cyber criminals to control comprised computers.  The group notified the affected companies and the compromised passwords were changed.After a quick examination of the passwords used, it became evident that users are not too discriminating when it comes to selecting a password. The most commonly used passwords were “123456”, “password,” and “admin”.  They also realized that many people use the same easy –to-crack password on multiple accounts.This is a lesson in protecting yourself and your online accounts with more complex yet easy to remember passwords.  A few suggestions to accomplish this fete range from using long passwords consisting of 10-15 characters, to combining a series of unrelated words or using a mnemonic device.  For example, consider looking around the room, note three objects, and string them together, such as WINDOWCOFFEETOWEL .  It’s three words with 17 characters and therefore more difficult to crack.  Another example creates a mnemonic by taking the lyrics “The answer my friend is blowing in the wind” it becomes TAMFIBITW;  with just nine characters it is a little short, but makes the case for mnemonics.However, passwords are selected, it is important to use a different password for each account and change them every few months.