Passwords are a pain to everyone. Here are some tips in dealing with these necessary pests:
1) Do not share your passwords! Google will not ask you for your password. Microsoft will not call you and ask for it. The Facebook message from your sister-in-law asking for help and asking you to share your password with her is most probably a scammer. Do not give it out!
2) Ideally, you should not write your passwords in a book. Many of us resort to this, and it’s understandable. A book of passwords, however, can be lost or stolen. Better is to choose a password you can remember. Remembering passwords is also good for your brain!
3) Use a memory aid to help remember passwords. How do you remember the password to your Fleet bank account? Fleet, like fast–fleet of foot. Mercury was the Roman messenger god with the winged helmet. Mercury Falling was a record by Sting I like. I could use “MercuryFalling” for my Fleet bank password. Or maybe “fleet” makes you think of a fleet of boats. Your uncle was a lobsterman, and his boat was named “Monica B.” So maybe “TheMonicaB” is a password you can remember.
4) Adding special characters adds security to passwords. Consider adding an exclamation point (or other character) to your password. “MercuryFalling!” could now my Fleet bank password. Or “TheMonicaB.” (See, I added a period to my password.)
5) Don’t use the same password for multiple sites. That way, should something happen and one of your passwords is divulged, it is only one website/account that a hacker/thief could get into. If you use the same password everywhere, and you fall for a scammer, now the scammer can get into ALL of your accounts.
Perhaps a longer article on computer/online security will be forthcoming. Would it be of interest to you? Let b.batty@stgeorgemaine.com know. Or, let us know of other tech questions you might have.