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Create Strong Passwords
To keep Internet intruders from breaking into your computer, you must create strong passwords that are nearly impossible to crack.
Here are some guidelines:
• If you have a simple one-word password like computer, a high-tech thief could crack it in mere minutes.
• If you make the password more robust by adding numbers — like computer33 — it might take the thief an extra 10 minutes to crack it.
• If your password is even more complex — like comPut3r55@$ — the thief would have to work around the clock for days on end before he could come close to cracking it.
• Your password should have a minimum of six digits, with at least three of the following: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
• The easiest way to create a strong password is to develop a pass-phrase, which is a sentence you can easily remember. Use the first letter of each word in the pass-phrase to create a password. For example, the pass-phrase “Honk if you like computer geeks” becomes the password hiylcg. To make it even stronger, use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that look like actual letters. For example, hiylcg can be changed into h1yLc&.
• For even stronger protection, change your passwords every six months.
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