After reading this article on Gizmodo, I feel the imperative to make a public announcement from the bottom of my withered little cybersecurity heart (only withered because I witness on daily bases people violating principles that seem to be foundational to being secure online... it tends to make you apathetic).
For the love of all that is good, green, and holy on this world, DO NOT USE simple passwords!
Look over that list on the Gizmodo article. If your password is on that list, CHANGE IT.
12345 is a password that can be easily guessed. As is password, as is any other dictionary word. There are specific attacks called dictionary attacks that use -- you guessed it -- a dictionary to direct the computer's password guessing scheme.
You should always have at least 1 number, 1 special character, one capital, and one small letter. It should be at least 8-10 characters long.
If you would all do this, and tell your friends too, maybe we will save our country headache and money tracking your stolen assets down after some cyberthug steals your passwords by guessing them.
"But what about the 10,000 passwords that I have to remember already?!" you ask. Well, they make password safes for this exactly this problem.
PasswordSafe (http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/) is a password generation and storage program. It will store your passwords in a 1024-bit encrypted database on your computer with no access to the internet. If you need mobility you can install a mobile version on a flash drive. They also have an iPhone version here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pwsafe-password-safe-compatible/id440783112?mt=8
So, now you have the tools. You have the power! Go forth and secure your virtual world! Everyone else will thank you for it.
