It’s a subject you probably don’t think about often, but the only thing protecting your personal information is literally at your fingertips.  We all use multiple sites where a password is required from Facebook to email to our online banking, with so much on the line, how strong is the password you are using?

It’s easy to get in the habit of using the same password for every site you use, but that’s a definite no no. If someone does figure out your one password, you’ve just given them free rein to access every website you have an account with.If your password is something like your birthday, child’s name, pet’s name or a simple word that is in the dictionary, that’s almost like having no password at all. Hackers & other nefarious internet baddies have programs that can use dictionary attacks that use all  known words & common passwords to break your password quite easily if you’re not using a strong password.

Luckily picking a strong password isn’t hard at all and if you don’t like to remember multiple passwords there is software that will do it for you such as AnyPassword or KeePass (which is Free). Otherwise writing your passwords down isn’t terrible, it’s better then having only one easy password, as long as  you don’t keep it taped to your monitor or under your keyboard.

Here is a great site to test out your password strength from Microsoft. Enter a password in the text box to have Password Checker help determine its strength as you type. Also here is some sage advice from Microsoft on how to pick a strong password that will be tough to crack.

6 steps to build a strong password

The strongest passwords look like a random string of characters to attackers. But random strings of characters are hard to remember.

Make a random string of characters based on a sentence that is memorable to you but is difficult for others to guess.

1. Think of a sentence that you will remember
Example: “My son Aiden is three years old.”

2. Turn your sentence into a password
Use the first letter of each word of your memorable sentence to create a string, in this case: “msaityo”.

3. Add complexity to your password or pass phrase
Mix uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. Introduce intentional misspellings.
For example, in the sentence above, you might substitute the number 3 for the word “three”, so a password might be “MsAi3yo”.

4. Substitute some special characters
Use symbols that look like letters, combine words, or replace letters with numbers to make the password complex.
Using these strategies, you might end up with the password “M$8ni3y0.”

5. Test your new password with Password Checker
Password Checker evaluates your password’s strength as you type.

6. Keep your password a secret
Treat your passwords with as much care as the information that they protect. For more information, see 5 tips to help keep your passwords secret.

Qualities of strong passwords

Length

• Each character you add to your password increases the protection it provides.
• 8 or more characters are the minimum for a strong password; 14 characters or longer are ideal.

Complexity

• The greater variety of characters that you have in your password, the harder it is to guess.
• An ideal password combines both length and different types of symbols.
• Use the entire keyboard.

Easy to remember, hard to guess

• The easiest way to remember your passwords is to write them down.
• It is OK to write passwords down, but keep them secret so they remain secure and effective.

Password strategies to avoid

To avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords:

• Avoid sequences or repeated characters
  “12345678,” “222222,” “abcdefg,” or adjacent letters on your keyboard do not make secure passwords.
• Avoid using only look-alike substitutions of numbers or symbols
  Criminals will not be fooled by common look-alike replacements, such as to replace an ‘i’ with a ’1′ or an ‘a’ with ‘@’ as in “M1cr0$0ft” or “P@ssw0rd”.

  These substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings, or variations in case.

• Avoid your login name
  Don’t use any part of your name, birthday, social security number, or similar information for your loved ones.

  This type of information is one of the first things criminals will try, and they can find it easily online from social networking sites, online resumes, and other public sources of data.

• Avoid dictionary words in any language
  Criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly guess passwords that are based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards, common misspellings, profanity, and substitutions.
• Avoid using only one password for all your accounts
  If your password is compromised on any one of the computers or online systems that use it, you should consider all of your other information protected by that password compromised as well.

  It is critical to use different passwords for different systems.

• Be careful with password recovery questions
  Many Web sites offer a “password ” service that lets you provide the answer to a secret question. If you forget your password, the service will send it to you if you can remember the answer to your secret question.

  The questions are often random, but sometimes the answers to these questions are freely available on the Web. Choose your questions carefully or make up the answers.

• Avoid using online storage
  If criminals find your passwords stored online or on a networked computer, they have access to all your information.

Follow the steps above and you’ll be surfing safe in no time. Encourage your friends and family and those not so techy to check and make sure they are using a secure password, that’s a gift that definitely keeps on giving. Thanks, and speaking of passwords I think I need to upgrade a few of my own, you can’t be too safe.

Just remember a good anti-virus is only part of keeping your PC safe & virus free. Make sure  you keep Windows patched and updated, make sure Adobe Reader is updated to plug security holes, always update your java & flash software and  whatever other software you use, check periodically to see if there are updates available.

So check both of these free software products out as a great alternative to paying big bucks for your anti-virus needs. Remember ultimately you’re the best protection against letting malware on your PC.