National Consumer Protection Week: Passwords
BOSTON (CBS) - This is National Consumers Protection Week. This is a national campaign to help consumers make better-informed decisions and avoid being scammed.
Let's talk about the passwords to your various accounts. You can't shop on Amazon, check the morning newspaper or your phone bill online without a password. Some folks use the same password for all of their accounts. Not prudent the experts tell us.
Microsoft has some good tips on how to choose safe passwords. It says that a good password should be eight or more characters long, not be your user name, real name or company name, and, in fact, not contain a complete word at all.
It should be significantly different to passwords used elsewhere and contain at least one each of the following: an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter, a number and a symbol such as $.
I would strongly suggest a different password for each account you have and make a list of your passwords. Update it. Save it. Consider changing your important passwords, especially where money is involved every 6 months or so. Also there are sites to help you manage your passwords and keep track of them. Most charge a fee to do so.
Internet security software firm SplashData has released its annual list of the worst and most common passwords that they advise not using. They are definitely easy to remember, but a smart hacker can easily guess them as well. If you are currently using any of them consider changing them.
Here is the list:
- 123456
- password
- 12345678
- qwerty (first 5 letters on the top row of your key board)
- 12345
- 123456789
- football
- 1234
- 1234567
- baseball
- welcome
- 1234567890
- abc123
- 111111
- 1qaz2wsx (diagonal on your keyboard)
- dragon
- master
- monkey
- letmein
- login
- princess
- qwertyuiop (complete top row of your keyboard)
- solo
- passw0rd
- starwars
One more thing: Report Scams -
If you think you may have been scammed: File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Visit ftc.gov/idtheft, where you'll find out how to minimize your risk of identity theft.
Report scams to the State Attorney General.
If you get unsolicited email offers or spam, send the messages to spam@uce.gov.
If you get what looks like lottery material from a foreign country through the postal mail, take it to your local postmaster.
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You can hear Dee Lee's expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.
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