If you do any online shopping and/or banking, user name and passwords have infiltrated your life. Many of my customers can easily knock one-half hour or more off their bill if they kept track of their passwords. I get many blank stares when I'm troubleshooting a machine and need to log into an Internet service or web site and I ask the customer for their password. Often times I receive the classic, "I don't have a password."

Everyone has a password for email, their bank, any other online service you might sign up for be it banking or a community forum.

Keeping track of passwords takes some diligence, but it absolutely must be done and approached sensibly.

Rule #1: DO NOT use the same password for everything you do. Using the same password can get you into online trouble faster than posting your credit card number on eBay.

Rule #2: Always write down your user name and password (and the date you obtained them). Preferably not on a sticky note that is attached to your monitor.

Rule #3: Use a mix of upper case and lower case, plus throw in some other characters as well, like * $ # @, etc. Using passwords like this make "cracking" a password much tougher. If you don't believe me, read this interesting article [1] I found on the subject.

Here are many more articles we have written that talk about how to properly manage your passwords.

• Password Mania [2]
• A (another) word about passwords [3]
• Why you shouldn't use the same username and password for everything [4]
• An analog tip for digital passwords [5]
• Save yourself some grief [6]
• Why you shouldn't use the same username and password for everything [7]
• Protect Your Identity [8]
• Know where to find your vital computer information [9]

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