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If your online password strategy is based solely on birthdays and pets' names, then your private information may be at risk. The increasing use of the Internet for communication, financial transactions, and other services involving private information makes the personal passwords protecting these conveniences a primary target for hackers and online criminals.
Hackers want passwords because they provide the quickest, easiest access to your computer, network, and online resources-and the private information they contain. A good password is private, easy to remember, difficult to guess, and not recorded in an unsecured location.
Take these steps to guard your passwords from disclosure:
Be wary of public computers. Never enter a password into a computer that you do not control.
- Make sure you can reset it: Routinely check that you have created a secret question and answer to allow password resets. Avoid submitting secret questions that are very obvious.