We are bringing this tip out of the archives because remembering passwords and having strong passwords is more important than ever with increased identity theft [1] and the increased amount of business we conduct over the web.

I have accumulated nearly ninety user names and passwords for various email services, web sites, banking sites, etc. Without my password tracking software, I wouldn't be able to remember them all or, I would be using the same user name and password for every instance (an extremely dangerous practice). You can use software solutions to securely save passwords on your computer or Palm based handheld computer. For your computer, I recommend these packages for securely keeping track of your passwords (works much better than the sticky note method):

• Password Keychain (free)
  [2]
• Password Manager (shareware)
  [3]
• Password Safe (shareware)
  [4]
• Access Manager (free)
  [5]

If you use a Palm based handheld, try either Top Secret [6] or Cloak [7]. Top Secret can also be used on your computer without a Palm device.

If you want to do away with passwords altogether and create an even more secure environment, consider the approximately $30 device from Microsoft that reads your finger print [8]. This device replaces all passwords with your finger print...the most unique part of all of us. If you have trouble thinking of good passwords, some of the programs listed above also double as password generators. Keep these rules in mind when creating passwords:

* Avoid real words, names, or dates that mean something
in your life (birthdays, anniversaries, etc)

* Make passwords harder to guess by adding punctuation or
numbers as in brain*scan or gue55thi5pa55word.

* Combine the first letters of a common phrase to make
your password. For example, you might take the phrase
"If elected I promise to lower taxes for all"
and turn it into the password "ieip2ltfa".

* Change your passwords regularly. That doesn't mean once
a year whether you've been attacked or not; it means
changing passwords as often as every two weeks, or
every month at a minimum. It's not as convenient, but
convenience and security don't always go together.

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