In my last blog I talked about security issues related to technology and social media websites. As George Butters,  CEO www.NewMediaDrive.com says, the best way to keep hackers away is to use secure passwords. But what is a secure password? In order to figure that out, it’s probably best to find out what isn’t a good password. Butters says bluntly, if your password is “in dictionary, it’s a lousy password. If you use the same password for everything, shame on you.”

Here is his suggestion on how to generate secure passwords and keep them safe, based on his own personal method.

1. Have a series of passwords, perhaps 20, that range from 8 to 10 characters and include upper and lowercase letters and numbers.

2. Don’t use the memorized passwords feature in your web browser software. Manually key it in every time. “The memory is in the muscles,” he says. “Type it 50 times when you create it. That goes a long way to solidifying the memory. Plus, having to enter it completely every time helps maintain the memory.”

3. To remember passwords: Butters suggests using shortcuts to identify them in a file on your computer desktop or on your mobile phone.

Example: If the password is P4jkcY87, the short version would be P4. When you see P4, you know the password is P4jkcY87.

4. Creating passwords: Take an old reference book that’s always on or near your desk. Turn to a page, for example 259 (that number can also be your password reminder). Starting from the upper left-hand character at the top of the page, read down the margin listing off the first eight (8) characters. (Note: don’t use a dictionary or you’ll get passwords like gggggggg).

Another idea is using a random password generator. For example: http://smartypants.com/randpass.php

http://strongpasswordgenerator.com

http://www.goodpassword.com

Or key “passwords generator” in a search engine and you’ll find many websites that will help you do this.

Do you have ideas for creating safe passwords and remembering them? Please post them here to share with everyone.

Recently, a woman I know had her Facebook and e-mail accounts hacked into. The e-mail account generated bogus e-mails to everyone in her address book. Using Facebook, the hackers sent messages to all of her friends.

Social Networking has created many links with people we may never have met before and that’s great. But the downside is that it makes us more vulnerable to hackers.

What are hackers looking for?

Some are after your identity. Others are getting paid to spam – either via email or through social networking – says As George Butters, CEO www.NewMediaDrive.com. “None of this is new, just the names of the social networking sites and the technical means used to get around the barriers. You build a better lock, they build a better lock pick.”

The most important thing is to do is create hacker-safe passwords to keep your information secure. Here are some General tips for creating hacker-safe passwords:

• Avoid using the same password for more than one account, service or resource. If one is cracked the others will be cracked as well.

• Passwords should contain a mix of characters – a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters (if allowed by the site).

• Avoid using consecutive or repeating numbers or letters: 1234 or abcd.

• Don’t use words spelled backwards or simple substitutions like replacing the letter “O” with the number zero (0). Hacker programs can actually recognize this.

• Avoid picking easily guessable passwords that represent items found near your work area, names of family members or pets, birthdays or phone numbers.

• If you suspect that your passwords have been compromised, change them immediately. In fact, it’s a good idea to change your passwords often.

• Never reveal your passwords to anyone, especially online (phishing) scams that ask you to send your password.

• Don’t reuse passwords. Have many and a system for keeping them.

In my next blog I’ll share ways to help you generate and remember secure passwords. In the meantime, if you have something to share about security and social networking please feel free to comment.