The most common mistakes that jeopardize our online digital safety include giving too much information online to scam emails and Web sites (known as phishing) and choosing weak passwords, using the same password for multiple sites and failing to keep anti-virus/anti-spyware software up-to-date.

Weak passwords include something easily guessed, like a family member name or birthday, or choosing common, ordinary words. Hackers can use a “dictionary attack,” where they run a program that quickly tests every word in the dictionary to see if it is your password. To prevent anyone else from accessing your accounts, you should choose a strong password, and one that is unique for every online account. A strong password has at least eight letters and numbers, uses some capital letters and symbols ($!* etc.), cannot be easily guessed and is changed regularly.

For important online services, check whether your provider offers
multi-factor authentication. Bank of America and Paypal, for example,
lets users use a One Time Password token to further secure access to
their online account and confirm transactions.

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Are you practicing safe password practices?