By Paul Nebb
What’s the most common password? You guessed it… “password.” Obviously this is not the best way to protect yourself against hackers and online thieves. But even if you don’t use the word “password,” you might be using an equally easy password to decipher.
We suggest you DON’T use the following passwords for really important web sites, such as your online banking web site or other financially related sites.
- Your name or your spouse’s name.
- Your children’s names.
- Your pet’s name.
- Your birth date.
- The last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Your phone number.
- Your address.
- A series of consecutive numbers, such as “1, 2, 3, 4.”
- A single word that would appear in a dictionary.
Your best bet for creating a strong password:
Use combinations of letters, numbers and special characters.