User security is a pretty big deal these days, and as I prep my follow up to Avoid Identity Theft I had another thought to write about.

One of my favorite things to do is guess someones password. Why? Because I can usually guess it. After analyzing someones intelligence and technical prowess, you can gauge how difficult their password probably is. Pete likes to throw random accounts at me and I’ll guess the password for fun. Usually get it on the third or fourth try. Ask Kevin Howett, I could regularly guess his AIM/MSN Zone passwords quite regularly back in the day.

Here’s the scary part. Most users in the real world day to day business use passwords that are far too weak to even have any use. You would be surprised how many people use ‘password’ or ‘name123′ or just ‘name’ as a password. Tons. Or their birthdate, car, dogs name, or sports team name. This won’t protect you against anything, and choosing a password you can remember does not give you the benefits of a password at all. By just being a regular word like ‘toyota’ or ‘bill123′ any skilled cracker/hacker is going to get into your account no sweat.

Why? Well, they will tell you that choosing a password is hard. I don’t disagree with them. Having to think of something no one else is expected to discover is hard. There are services that can assist you with this.

A good password is one no one can guess, and one that would hinder even the best hacker or brute force app out there. That is why I am recommending to you to use Good Password. It will assist you in generating a password randomly or from a phrase of your liking.

While these may be hard for you to remember, don’t be discouraged. This is for your (and the company you work for) protection. I would suggest, if you must, to write them down and keep it in your wallet, or a place no one but you has access to.

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