It’s “Change Your Password” Weekend

I’ve heard quite a few stories this week from people who have had problems due to passwords. Old, easy to guess, weak… that simply won’t work nowadays.

First off is Josh Spaulding, who talks about a $1,600 credit card bill that came about as a result of a weak password (and thanks, Josh, for taking responsibility. While I’m sorry it happened to somebody like you, it’s refreshing to see you not try to pass the buck).

Another one was discussed at length in the Earn 1k A Day Forum, and another happened to a colleague in the Internet Marketing Inner Circle membership site. Unfortunately, I can’t give you links to those discussions because those are private membership sites.

Finally, Scott Spanbauer writes in the Windows Secrets Newsletter about an unpatched hole in Google’s Gmail service. This hole could allow an attacker to change your Google password — not something you want. The article — and the newsletter — is worth reading.

So the verdict is clear: Change your passwords. Use a hard to guess password that’s at least 10 characters and uses upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Change it at least every three months. And while some security pros will disagree me, I think it’s OK to write down your passwords as long as you treat that piece of paper like you would a large sum of cash or a credit card.

Even better, get RoboForm and let it manage and create your passwords for you. You only have one password to remember that way — your master password that encrypts the rest of your passwords. Just make sure that you change that password every three months, too!