Incursion into large computer systems into the companies is usually performed in the way that the defender makes impact through the password that he/she got from some employee in the same company. Home users may have problems if their neighbor or friend knows the password for the ADSL router or connection type of their computer.

In both cases “indiscreet” can do great damage, so we will try to present to you 15 great tips on which you need to pay attention to avoid password abuse.

1. Do not use the same password for several different services (e-mail, log on to the computer, the entrance to the special program …)

2. In passwords do not use personal information, such as its own name or nickname, date and year of birth, name of a girl or boyfriend, your mobile number or your address of residence.
3. Never, never, and again – NEVER construct password which may contain information from other passwords, such as PIN ATM card, entrance card into the company, or an alarm code, etc.
4. To disable various programs which can “break” passwords (brute force programs), it is recommended to use between 8 and 14 characters for your password.
5. Some programs do not accept more than 15 characters for the password, so make this restriction.
6. Do not use a sign “space” (eng. Space) for your password because the majority of programs and systems do not accept.
7. To create a password it is best to use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, a typical example is the $Macedonia123q.
8. With a combination of letters, be sure to use at least one large (A, B, C, ..) and at least one lowercase letter (a, b, c, …), because your password will be safer.
9. Use the special symbols ( `~! @ # $% ^ & * () _ + – = () | [] \:” ‘<>?), and ask in advance whether the system for which you need a password support these symbols.
10. Writing super strong password on a post-it sticker and after that paste it on the monitor of your computer is the biggest stupidity that you can do. Passwords are not written in a visible place, but possibly on a piece of paper that you carry yourself permanent – not recommended.
11. If you have many passwords, and there is a possibility that may forget some of them, then use specialized programs for storing passwords or using Word or Excel, but protect the documents with the strongest possible password (see 7).
12. A good trick for storing passwords is the mobile phone. It is not safe as Protected Excel, which you protect with 15 characters, but usually it is consider as private, it is always with you and anywhere you have access to it.
13. Most common mistake of people who use Internet banking is that the password for the token writes on paper that you put inside the token. There is no greater nonsense of this.
14. As the password you should not write anywhere, be careful to whom you can talk/speak about your password.
15. Do not think too morbid and too strong passwords (such as Mgt9oK*u85hKIU%) because you cannot remember it. The only way of using such secure password is to write it (see 11).

More password tips: 11 tips for selecting secure password

Tags | Howto, Security, Tips and Tricks