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Passwords
 If you've ever lost your
wallet, you know the sense of vulnerability that comes with
it. Someone might be walking around with your identification,
pretending to be you. If someone stole your passwords, they
could do the same thing online. A hacker could be opening new
credit card accounts, applying for mortgages, or chatting
online disguised as you-and you wouldn't know it until it was
too late. Read on to learn how you can help protect your
identity online by creating stronger passwords.
Are you using weak
passwords?
You probably
already know not to create passwords using any combination of
consecutive numbers or letters such as "12345678", "lmnopqrs",
or adjacent letters on your keyboard such as "qwerty." And
you've probably heard that using your login name, your
spouse's name, or your birthday as your password are also big
no-nos. But did you know that you should never use a word that
can be found in the dictionary, in any language? That's right.
Hackers use sophisticated tools that can rapidly guess
passwords based on words in the dictionary in different
languages, even common words spelled backwards.
If you use a common
word as your password, you might think you're protected if you
replace letters of that word with numbers or symbols that look
like the letters such as M1cr0$0ft or P@ssw0rd. Unfortunately,
hackers know these tricks too.
Step 1: Create
strong passwords that you can remember
You could come up with a
completely random combination of numbers and symbols, but
that's not very practical. How would you remember it? Chances
are you'd write it down and keep it in the top drawer of your
desk and then it's no longer such a great password after all.
A strong password
is one that is at least eight characters, includes a
combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and is easy for
you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.
Create a strong
passphrase -- The easiest way to create a strong password that
you won't have to write down is to come up with a passphrase.
A passphrase is a sentence that you can remember, like "My son
Aiden is three years older than my daughter Anna." You can
make a pretty strong password by using the first letter of
each word of the sentence. For example, msaityotmda. However,
you can make this password even stronger by using a
combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and
special characters that look like letters. For example, using
the same memorable sentence and a few tricks, your password is
now M$8ni3y0tmd@.
If you still think
that's too hard to remember, you could try a more common
phrase, such as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." If
you're using a common phrase make sure to inject at least one
number or symbol into the password. Such as U(t@0DnT.
Step 2: Keep
your passwords a secret
Keeping your passwords safe
means keeping them a secret. Don't give them to friends and
don't write them down and keep them at your desk or in an
unprotected file on your computer. Your house could get broken
into, or more likely your child may give a friend access to
your computer or your desk and that friend may not have the
best motives when it comes to your privacy.
Even if you know
not to write down your passwords or give them away to friends,
you should also be wary when giving them to the Web site where
you created the password in the first place. A new way in
which hackers trick people into giving away their passwords
and other personal information is through a scam called
"phishing." Phishing is the practice of sending millions of
bogus e-mails that appear to come from popular Web sites like
eBay or Amazon. The e-mails look so official that many people
will respond to requests for their login name and password.
Microsoft, eBay,
Amazon, PayPal, or any other reputable company will never ask
you to send your password through e-mail. If you receive a
request for your password, social security number, or other
sensitive information via e-mail, notify the company
immediately by phone or through their Web site.
Step 3: Manage
your passwords
The safest password technique is to create a new,
strong password for every Web site or login that requests one.
This is almost as impractical as remembering a long string of
random characters. An easier solution is to create a handful
of strong passwords and use those at sites you want to keep
most secure, such as your bank, brokerage, or bill paying
company. Then create another small set of easier to remember
passwords that you can use everywhere else.
Remember, a strong
password is one you change every few months. Just as you make
a date with your computer to run updates, backup software, and
clean out old programs, you should also regularly change
passwords.
Step 4: Monitor
your accounts
Creating stronger passwords can help protect
you against identity theft. However, it does not guarantee
that you are protected. If someone does steal your passwords,
the faster you catch on and notify authorities, the less
damage a hacker can do. Make sure to monitor all your monthly
financial statements, and call the appropriate company or bank
immediately to report issues. Also, review your credit report
each year.
Next steps to
protecting yourself Identity theft can happen if someone
steals your password, but there are other ways for hackers to
break into your computer. You can continue to improve your
computer's security by keeping your software up to date and
using a firewall. | 
Your server is a ticking time bomb. Although it may
never actually blow up, sooner or later it will become
obsolete and that is a potentially explosive liability for any
business. The truth is that the older hardware is, the more
likely that a failure and loss of productivity will occur.
According to CompTIA (the Computer Industry Association) a
company can avoid large expenses by updating its servers every
three years. If it waits five years, then there's a big risk
of being compelled to upgrade many components simultaneously
which is not a pretty thought.
Outlook 2003 Calendar Tips
