by Bourne Chase

Created on: November 24, 2009   Last Updated: November 25, 2009

Internet security plays a far more important role in many people's lives than they realize. Many people use passwords for numerous websites in their daily lives, without understanding or appreciating the ramifications that a good or bad password can have. Identity theft, or theft of other sensitive personal information is increasingly prevalent in today's digital epoch, and most of this is due to individual ignorance or nonchalance. This article will provide you with guidelines to maximize this particular aspect of your digital security.

Do not use common words or phrases

Hackers attempting to break passwords can use software that uses preprogrammed lists and combinations of common words or phrases. If your password is based on something common such as a word in the English language, or a slang term, a hacker could literally break through this in minutes in some situations.

Do not use a password based on your personal information

Many people use passwords based on the name of their children, pet, spouse, place of birth, place of residence, etc. Information such as this is typically very easy for hacker to access online, especially if you utilize social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace.

Use separate passwords for highly sensitive areas

A good practice is to have a common password that you use for everyday use, and a separate password for important things like online banking, or your stock trading account. Most people use the same password for all websites. Hackers know this, and will attempt to use a method known as phishing to get you to voluntarily supply your password without being aware of what is going on. If you use a single password for everything, then a hacker need only obtain your password to one of the dozens of websites that you may use in order to access all of them.

Examples of how you might unknowing supply your password to a malicious recipient are registering at a website that is not reputable, or through tricks to make you think that you are at a popular, established website such as Facebook, when you are really not. Using separate passwords is a way to guard against this possibility, in case you unknowingly supply your password to a malicious website.

Use combinations of letters and numbers that are not common

Using combinations of letters and numbers is more secure than using numbers or letters alone. If you are good at memorization, this can be a completely random sequence such as aet773bytu. If you are not so good at memorization,

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