How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away

Cyber security is something that most of us likely take for granted until something happens to us, then it becomes personal.  Even those that take above average precautions are likely to be targeted as well.  This is one reason why we encourage people to take a look at their credit report at least annually or even semi-annually.  Everyone is entitled to one free annual credit report each year but if you would actually like to receive a credit score that is something that you are gong to have to pay for.  However for the relatively small costs it could be well worth it.

We had a post earlier this year How Not to Become Mat Honan: A Short Primer on Online Security, which featured a writer at Wired Magazine who shared his experience getting hacked.  Today we feature this article by NYT writer Nicole Perlroth, who discusses how to devise passwords to keep hackers away.  Perloth names about half a dozen suggestions that could be helpful but the two that I find especially beneficial are...

1. NEVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD TWICE 
2. STORE YOUR PASSWORDS SECURELY

• It is absurdly easy to get hacked. All it takes is clicking on one malicious link or attachment. Companies’ computer systems are attacked every day by hackers looking for passwords to sell on auctionlike black market sites where a single password can fetch $20. Hackers regularly exploit tools like John the Ripper, a free password-cracking program that use lists of commonly used passwords from breached sites and can test millions of passwords per second.