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.