Remember this scene from SpaceBalls about the secret combination? Think most people don’t choose such passwords? Think again.
Many, many, many people fail to set a good password. And while many other people, who are wise when it comes to setting good passwords, laugh at the people who set a password as “1,2,3,4,5,” the LinkedIn breach from June of 2012 revealed just how un-clever people, the poor password setters, can be when choosing their passwords. So, poor password setting folks, don’t do this, and please don’t use passwords like, “link,” “job,” “work,” and – yes, yes, yes (!) – “12345.” That’s right. That was on a list of the top 30 passwords cracked on LinkedIn. I guess these people failed to watch Spaceballs. So, let’s try and help out the poor password setters now. In the meantime, let’s be honest, there are a lot of us out there, the closeted poor password setters.
Based upon Google support tips, here are 5 pointers on how to set a good password that will keep your stuff well-protected:
1. Never use easy passwords like: love, job, work, god, lord, 1234, OR (once again) 12345!
2. Use lowercase and uppercase letters, along with numbers and symbols (example: rghVeWBx45!bN)
3. Don’t use examples of passwords in pieces like this one, i.e. the one I listed in no. 2.
4. Change your passwords frequently – some people are so careful with their passwords that they change them every time they access password sensitive accounts! Some might think that’s being excessively cautious, but these folks avoid trouble.
5. Use phonetic spelling – so, instead of “Franco is great laughs,” write “Franco is gr8 laffs.”
These are just a few ways you can protect your secured information online. So, in short, don’t pull a Spaceballs!
