Box of Meat recently linked to a couple of bits of really good info from two different webmail providers, talking about how to stay safe and secure online.
First, Michael Santerre from Google talks about how to pick a good password. Don't use the same password on multiple sites and how to pick passwords that are uniquely weird enough to deter guessing. Seriously, never, ever use the name of your husband, wife, dog, cat, child, or grandpa in your password. Never use anything from your own personal information, either. Not your middle name or the brand of car you own. Me? I always pick two random dictionary words, then cut them up a bit and add some numbers and punctuation to the mix. You would never guess my password based on what you know about my life.
Next, Mark Risher from Yahoo talks about how to avoid falling for a phish. Make sure any web page that asks for your password is really a yahoo.com page, pay attention to what you're doing, and don't use the same password on multiple sites (so that if you do accidentally give up your password, the bad guy's ability to access anything of yours is restricted). All wise advice. I used to ask myself, how do people fall for phishing attempts? I never have and I just couldn't imagine others falling for it. But, I'm paranoid and always paying attention to what page I'm on and what information is being asked for. And I suppose I'm a bit more technical than a lot of other internet users. So, it happens, and it's good to share info with others about how they can become more savvy to reduce the risk of them getting tricked out of their password or other sensitive information.
Box of Meat recently linked to a couple of bits of really good info from two different webmail providers, talking about how to stay safe and secure online.
First, Michael Santerre from Google talks about how to pick a good password. Don't use the same password on multiple sites and how to pick passwords that are uniquely weird enough to deter guessing. Seriously, never, ever use the name of your husband, wife, dog, cat, child, or grandpa in your password. Never use anything from your own personal information, either. Not your middle name or the brand of car you own. Me? I always pick two random dictionary words, then cut them up a bit and add some numbers and punctuation to the mix. You would never guess my password based on what you know about my life.
Next, Mark Risher from Yahoo talks about how to avoid falling for a phish. Make sure any web page that asks for your password is really a yahoo.com page, pay attention to what you're doing, and don't use the same password on multiple sites (so that if you do accidentally give up your password, the bad guy's ability to access anything of yours is restricted). All wise advice. I used to ask myself, how do people fall for phishing attempts? I never have and I just couldn't imagine others falling for it. But, I'm paranoid and always paying attention to what page I'm on and what information is being asked for. And I suppose I'm a bit more technical than a lot of other internet users. So, it happens, and it's good to share info with others about how they can become more savvy to reduce the risk of them getting tricked out of their password or other sensitive information.
(H/T: Box of Meat)
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