Common Passwords Make Internet Accounts Vulnerable
The New York Times recently published an interesting article in the wake of the release of 32 million passwords that a hacker posted online after stealing them from software company RockYou. See the article here showing the 32 most common passwords: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/technology/21password.html
Some of the most common passwords found were, "12345, 123456, iloveyou, and the word "password." In the age of automated hacking tools that can "guess" thousands of passwords per minute, these common simple passwords leave you accounts at risk. Once your account has been compromised not only can hackers access your private data but they can use your ID for phishing campaigns against everyone in your contact list which can be very embarrassing and damaging to your reputation and that of your company.
Some best practices for passwords are:
1) Use multiple passwords
2) Don't use common identifiers like your initials and date of birth
3) Make your passwords longer
4) Use a mix of letters and numbers upper and lowercase
It is a hassle to remember multiple passwords but it is an even bigger hassle to explain to all your contacts that your email was hacked and that you didn't really intent to send them that email about how much money they can make from Google by posting links from home and taking online surveys.
Sincerely, Matthew Cooper, CPP VP Reliant Security