There is also a new trend that Iapostropheve started to see recently. Enter your user name and password to create your account, and then the system automatically sends you an e-mail that lists both just in case you forgot. Now your secret password is out there on some e-mail server for some savvy hacker to locate. So whatapostrophes the problem with this?
Well, in a perfect world, we would have different user names and passwords for all of our accounts. That way, no one would be able to penetrate our fortress of personal information. But if you, the reader, are anything like me, the writer, then you are probably using the same user name and password for just about everything. This means that if one person finds your user name and password either at work, or on an e-mail server, or through a corrupt web host, or wherever, that they can now visit all the popular websites and enter that information to see if you carry an account at that location as well. This could mean that your bank account, credit card, Amazon account, Pay Pal, or whatever could be penetrated and used for illegal activity because your personal account information was hijacked from that Hula-hula website where you have to see how many hula hoops your huladancer can spin at one time on various body parts.
Well once again, if you, the reader, are anything like me, the writer, then you donapostrophet want to create 500 different usernames and passwords for your 500 different accounts.
So consider this - at minimum change the user name and password for your banks, credit cards, and other financial accounts. Use a real good password - you know, the ones with letters, and capitals, and numbers, and squiggly ampersands, and make them real long while you are at it. And then, use the same bogus password for everything else. By doing this, you might end up with only two or three passwords to remember, and if someone DOES penetrate your account, more than likely the worst thing they will be able to do is change your weekly pick on your favorite book of the month club website. Stay safe!
About the author:
Dan Prochoda is the owner of The Safer Spot, a place to meet. Use The Safer Spot to meet a client, contractor, or even a buyer from the classifieds. Learn more at www.TheSaferSpot.com.