A few months ago my account at a social networking site got hacked by one of the latest phishing scams. I realized at the time that I had begun to think that no one would target me and had begun to use the same password at various sites. The event got me thinking about how easy it is to obtain your password and how to go about protecting your password.

A forum getting hacked can be devastating, so taking care with your security is worth the time and thought. Here are a few tips to help you to keep your board safe from hackers, phishers and all other neerdowells.

1. Don't make it easy
Yes, remembering passwords is a drag. It is always easier to just create a password that is easy to remember, but keep in mind usually the easier it is to remember the easier it is to guess. Remember in this day of social networking it is easy for hackers to find your birthday, your mother's maiden name or other simple and common passwords.

Never use personal details in your password.


2. Numbers + Letters = Safer
Using alphanumeric passwords is critical. One tool that hackers often use is a dictionary or brute force hack. These hacks scroll through common word combinations to try to guess your password.

Often this is very simple for the program because a surprising number of people use "password" as their password. Obviously this is not the best choice.

When you use numbers and letters you decrease the chances of being hacked by a huge percentage.

3. Make it long.
If you use less characters the hackers have less to guess. Each number or letter that you add makes the password that much more difficult to guess.

For example:

A. If you were to pick "dog" as your password there are only 6 possible options to your password.
B. If you were to pick "dog678" there are 720 password combinations.
C: If you were to add just one more number "dog6789" you have increased your password combinations to 6000!


4. If you write it down it can be found.
Don't get into the habit of writing down your password. Even if you manage your forum at home and rarely have visitors it is just not a good practice. Definitely do not save your passwords on your computer.

5. Change it up.
Change your password every 3 months. Yes it is a pain but the more you change it up the more difficult it will be to hack your site.

6. Be unique.
Don't use the same password across all the sites that you sign into, especially if you do any online banking.

7. Use special characters
Using special characters (*^$^(&) increases the security of your password. It is not helpful if you just add an exclamation point to the end as this is a common usage of special characters.

8. Don't use any words
If it is found in a dictionary it is not a good password. A very simple program can guess your password if it can be found in any list of words.

9. Watch your letters.
If you are using random letters and numbers keep in mind that these letters are the most commonly used: a, e, o, and r. The most common number is "1." Try to stay away from these if you can.

10. Using an online password generator is not as safe as it seems.
A large number of password generator programs and Web sites are available on the Internet. Their quality varies and can be hard to assess if there is no clear description of the source of randomness that is used, and if source code is not provided to allow claims to be checked. Furthermore, and probably most importantly, sending passwords over the Internet raises obvious security concerns, particularly if the connection to the password generation site's program is not properly secured or if the site is compromised in some way.

Hope this helps in keeping your site safe.

Perfect information buddy, its very important to take care of the software we have with you. if you are having crucial accounts such as net banking account, important logins of official account , all are very important and keep them in safe hands.

I personally keep my passwords in an excel sheet and and make that sheet password protected or hidden to be more secured manner.

Some of the steps can be very exhausting but really, if it matters, you have to do whatever is necessary to protect oneself.

very useful-i already do that

my password is completely random, and any security question that comes with it-i make up the answer to that, as i find the questions given to be so easily guessed.

I too agree that some steps which are mentioned are bit difficult but some how it is complete difficult to do so. Still i'll say that the security is one of the major concern. I would rather say that security of any account should be kept at the pick.

I totally agree, when it comes to passwords, it is better safe than sorry. It can be really annoying when the thought comes to mind that you have to go through this just because someone might actually do something wrong, but the truth is ... it is happening... and it is rampant.

In most corporations password changing is done every month, it is also suggested not to use words or names that hackers may easily find your profile. Never re use a password that you might be using in other email accounts, it might be traced. Never trust someone with your password, it is best to just keep it to yourself.

What makes a good password is having some form of 2FA (two-factor authentication) where you can telesign into your account. It's very important that the leading companies in their respective verticals are giving users the appropriate additional layer of authentication and security for access to accounts and transaction verification without unreasonable complexity.

Thank you for give very nice information.

yes, and please Keep Your Password Safe as well

Many of tips to protect your security analytics password. I mention here main 5 Step.
Step 1: The password longer than 14-Character
Step 2: Don't keep all of your passwords in one place on your PC. Make sure your PC is protected via one of the many firewall products available to you.
Step 3:Change your passwords fairly regularly.
Step 4o not pick a security question which is an issue of public record, such as your mother's maiden name or the city in which you were born.
Step 5:Most sites requesting your password should be encrypted with SSL. Before typing in your password, check that the page you are visiting is encrypted. You can easily verify this by making sure a padlock symbol is displayed at the bottom of your browser screen.