Creating a Strong Password

Here are some helpful tips on creating a "strong password":

- Should be at least 8 characters long
-Should not contain your name or any portion of your name
-Should contain characters from at least 3 of the following classes:

1. Upper Case Letters (ABC)
2. Lower Case Letters (abc)
3. Numbers (123)
4. Special Characters (!@#*%&)

An easy way to do this is to create a passphrase this can be done quite simply and is easy to recall. Use a phrase such as: My dog has fleas. Change it to accomodate the above rules and you have a strong password:

Myd0gh@sfleas! In this case the first letter is capitalized (easy to remember, the o is actually the number zero, the a is the symbol @, and the exclamation point is an added symbol.

Why do we need strong passwords? As we all know identity theft is a huge problem. What you may not know is HOW easy it is for someone who wants to figure out your password to actually figure it out. The following is a listing of how quickly your password could be decoded.

Six character single case: (either a word or random letters: "google")
There are 308 million combinations and can be cracked in minutes

Eight Characters upper and lower case: (ex: WeDoLife)
53 trillion combinations and can be cracked in hours

Substitute a number for a letter: (ex: WeDoLif3)
218 trillion combinations and can be cracked in weeks

Substitue a special character for a letter: (ex: WeDoL!f3)
6095 trillion combinations and can be cracked in a year

What does this mean? Pick a STRONG password, and change it every couple months. Don't use the same password for all of your internet dealings. Pick something you will remember!