Internet Tips: Security and Safety

Introduction

The Internet can be useful and fun. Unfortunately, it can also be dangerous. While most people on the Internet fall behave within the bounds of reasonably acceptable human behavior the few who do not can cause a lot of damage. Identity theft, having your site 'hacked', having someone find your private information to use against you, and scams are real threats. While there is no completely risk free way to use the Internet there are many things you can do to increase your chances of remaining safe. 

Passwords

Most of us quickly end up with numerous passwords. E-mail accounts require a password, your website will require at least one password, and many websites require passwords. Choosing a password is a balance between having a hard to guess password and being safe and having a password that you can remember.

If the password is to protect you from people or companies you will only encounter on the Internet you can write down your passwords. Unfortunately, that does not help if you want to hide the password from a person who might be near your computer (roommate, client, co-worker, etc). Relying on a written list of your passwords also means you have to either carry your password list with you at all times or risk being unable to check email or use a website when away from your own computer.

One of the easiest solutions is to use an acronym. Thus, the password makes sense to you, but to anyone else it looks like a random collection of letters and/or numbers.

For example if you are a Star Wars fan, your favorite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back, and your favorite character is Han Solo, you could use the password TESBHS which stands for (T)he (E)mpire (S)trikes (B)ack (H)an (S)olo. If the website allows you to enter a clue you could use "favorite movie". This example would work if you want to prevent a hacker from figuring out your password, but it is less helpful if you want someone who knows you not to be able to figure it out.

One way to make the password more secure is to choose something from your childhood. For example, if you loved Kermit the Frog on The Muppets when you were a kid, but most people you know now do not know about your childhood interests you could use KTFTM for (K)ermit (T)he (F)rog (T)he (M)uppets.

Passwords that are a collection of letters and numbers can be even more secure. If your favorite football player is Divine Swift who is number 42 on the Galactic Hornets then your password could be DS42GH for (D)ivine (S)wift (42) (G)alactic (H)ornets. (As far as I know there is no Divine Swift nor am I familiar with any team called the Galactic Hornets. I chose the name because I am currently staring at Dante's Divine Comedy and a Jonathan Swift collection.)

Other Examples