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One of the
things that I was most interested in finding is out how to write a password so
that hackers are less likely to get into information that can cause me
grief. Having been the victim of
identity theft in the past, I really try to avoid it now.
Now that I’ve
done my research, I thought I’d save you the work of trolling through a slew of
articles that seem to say much of the same thing: life is miserable once your
identity has been hacked. It takes
months to figure out what damage has happened and to repair it. The damage can include financial information,
insurance info, medical records, criminal identity, driver’s license info, and
even children’s identities.
There are
steps to take to avoid identity theft, but I was most interested in writing a
good password—one that hackers would have to work extra hard to break
into. Let’s start with what NOT to use: birthdates; names of pets, children and
family; school and work info; other common information that you normally share
with people.
Step 1: Begin
with a phrase or sentence that you will easily remember. It may be your favorite quote or something
that you tell your children daily. Any
combination of words of 18 or more letters but does not include anything from
the NOT list. An example (which you will
not use) is “The lamb was sure to go.”
Notice what is in this sentence: several words, 18 letters and an easily
remembered quote. Notice that I didn't use the first line of the nursery rhyme.
Step 2:
Change some of the letters to numbers.
Since the letters a and o appear twice each, I’m going to
remove all of them and insert the number 8 in their place. “The lamb was sure to go.” becomes “The
l8mb w8s sure t8 g8.”
Step 3: Add
two or more symbols. I’ll add two symbols
between the words. “The l8mb w8s sure t8
g8” becomes “The l8mb$w8s sure%t8 g8.”
Step 4:
Change one letter to a capital. I’ve
already capitalized the first letter, so I’ll add one more in an unexpected
place—the second s. “The l8mb$w8s
sure%t8 g8” becomes “The l8mb$w8S sure%t8 g8.”
Now make
it easier. Yes, do that to keep your
sanity.
“Thel8mb$w8sSure%t8g8” is almost impossible to remember. Oh, it’s a good password! But it will do me no good if I can’t remember it. So, I’m going to do two things to make it easier to remember. First, I’ll reduce it to 18 objects within the quotes by taking out the two e’s. “Thl8mb$w8Ssur%t8g8.” Secondly, I’ll memorize it as two sets by splitting it exactly in the middle, “Thl8mb$w8 Ssur%t8g8.” The reason for this is that the human brain can easily remember 5-9 symbols. Also, I can switch the two sets to create another password, “Ssur%t8g8Thl8mb$w8” without having to memorize more information. I've found trying to memorize a long string like this one is easier if I toss in some fun: every time I get a drink--water, coffee, tea, soda--I spend a few minutes memorizing the information. This gives me lots of opportunity to "study" and serves as a built in reward system.
“Thel8mb$w8sSure%t8g8” is almost impossible to remember. Oh, it’s a good password! But it will do me no good if I can’t remember it. So, I’m going to do two things to make it easier to remember. First, I’ll reduce it to 18 objects within the quotes by taking out the two e’s. “Thl8mb$w8Ssur%t8g8.” Secondly, I’ll memorize it as two sets by splitting it exactly in the middle, “Thl8mb$w8 Ssur%t8g8.” The reason for this is that the human brain can easily remember 5-9 symbols. Also, I can switch the two sets to create another password, “Ssur%t8g8Thl8mb$w8” without having to memorize more information. I've found trying to memorize a long string like this one is easier if I toss in some fun: every time I get a drink--water, coffee, tea, soda--I spend a few minutes memorizing the information. This gives me lots of opportunity to "study" and serves as a built in reward system.
One last
note, do not leave the password on your computer or written down where a thief can get to it. Once you’ve memorized the
password, destroy the paper by shredding or burning. Identity thieves often rifle through trash in
search of information that will help them to build a profile for a potential victim. Finding your name on one piece of paper, your
address on another, a password on a third and so on, they can piece together
enough of a profile to search additional information on the internet. These folks will gladly pay for any site that
will provide information about a victim. Don’t
make it easy for them to get started.
Additional Resources:
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Additional Resources:
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2012/12/18/6-tips-to-protect-yourself-from-identity-theft
http://idtheft.about.com/od/Basics/a/The-8-Types-Of-Identity-Theft.htm
http://www.igrad.com/articles/8-types-of-identity-theft
http://www.protectmyid.com/identity-theft-protection-resources/types-of-fraud/common-types.aspx
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