If you want to secure your bank, email and other important online accounts, then you need a strong password that cannot be easily cracked. Of course, you need a firewall and antispyware programs for extra protection, but a strong password is needed too if no one except you should gain access to your accounts. There are password cracking programs that can disclose your password, but you should definitely try to make this as hard as possible.

To create the strongest password you can, you can follow my tips. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that it won’t be cracked, as no password is 100% secure, but at least you’ll know that you don’t have a ‘weak’ password. And who knows, if you are ever a hacking victim, maybe the hacker will give up if he/she sees it’s not a quick and easy job.

Here are some points to consider when you create a password:

• Use a long password (the longer the better)
• Use a mix of characters (numbers, letters and signs)
• Do not use things that area easily guessed or found, such as your birth date, place of growing up, first high school or pets’ names
• If you can, do not use password hints (you are helping yourself but also the hacker)
• If you are writing a word, make sure it’s not one that can be found in the dictionary
• Substitute numbers and letters with similar looking signs. For example use ! instead of 1 or I, $ instead of S, @ instead of a and & instead of 8. Example: instead of visual you can write V!$u@l
• Use a mix of upper and lower case letters
• Change your passwords regularly
• Do not write down or store your passwords in places other people might access, such as your wallet, your PC, desk or email.
• If you have to write down your passwords somewhere, maybe you can write them in a text file and compress in a password protected archive (I know, another password :)) and store it offline (USB memory stick, floppy disk)