With so much of our lives happening online this year, protecting our personal information is even more important. One sure way to keep your personal information from getting into the hands of those you do not want to have your information is to use strong passwords for your online accounts.

Using strong passwords, having a different password for every account and changing passwords every 60 days are some of the most important ways to keep your online accounts from being hacked. Most of these points you have heard before but check out the following information just to be sure you are protecting yourself.

- Do not use personal information (name, birthday, anniversary, phone number, pet names. etc) as your password.

-Do not use words found in a dictionary. Common words and phrases are very easy for online attackers to identify passwords.

- Minimally, create passwords with at least 8 characters (at least 1 number, 1 letter and 1 special character) which are easy to remember but not easy to guess. A phrase or sentence is a good way to help remember it. The more characters, the more secure.

- Use mnemonics (patterns of letters to help remember something) helps create very strong passwords. An example is “Mfvwg68Cp” for “[M]y [f]irst [v]ehicle [w]as a [g]reen 19[68] [C]hevy [p]ickup.” Using unusual capitalization, substituting other designations of a word and adding symbols also strengthens the password, such as “m1stvw*g68CpU”.

- Use different passwords for different applications/accounts. If one of your accounts is compromised by someone successfully cracking your password, then all your other accounts and information are also vulnerable and very easy for unauthorized users to access.

- Do not share your passwords with others and do not leave your passwords lying around, especially next to the computer. It is recommended not to write the passwords down, however, if you do end up writing them down, keep them in a safe, secure place.

- Do not use your username or even parts of it as your password.

- This last one is the hardest for many people – do not use “remember my password” feature on websites. The best way to keep your accounts secure is to enter your username and password each time, especially when multiple people use the same computer.

As a consumer using the web, you need to be diligent in keeping your personal information as safe as possible. Using the tips above to create strong passwords is one way.

To learn more, contact Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the green building next to the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton.

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Montana State University, US Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.