Lately, I have been in several discussions reflecting on the reasons for passwords in our generation. Only about 2 decades ago, our parents had little or nothing to worry as passwords were not necessary. Today, we live in a fast changing world and we are challenged with an ever increasing need for passwords each day.

For instance, an average professional has between 6 to 10 passwords to cram on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. The use of passwords in the life of an average professional starts right at the beginning of the day when he needs to gain access to his office if it requires a password.

Logging into the computer at work; accessing the company software application; checking our ‘yahoo’ or ‘hotmail’ accounts’ e-mails and messenger accounts; checking the online bank accounts require passwords and in some cases more than 1; your pension fund account; the ATM pin, social networking pages such as ‘Facebook’, ‘MySpace’ and ‘Youtube’ account also adds to the daily dilemma of keeping passwords in the head.

A common habit among professionals which often leads to dire consequences is the tendency to write passwords on pieces of paper supposedly kept away in safe places. I have even seen someone save passwords in an MS Excel spread on his computer. Indeed, that is like giving away one’s life in a less than one page document.

Dos and Don’ts

•    Passwords as the name suggests should be treated as such. Do not leave passwords in unsafe locations or media.

•    Try ensuring your passwords have the same format to aid recall but ensure they are not necessarily the same for all accesses.

•    Do not use a password that is identical to your ‘user name’. Fortunately, most systems today have being developed to detect such occurrences.

•    Always, remember you don’t have to remember all your passwords all the time. Several social networking sites and internet sites have password recall buttons that sends your passwords to your e-mail box once you provide your e-mail address.

•    As you may know, it is advisable not to use passwords that have direct links to you. Passwords such as birth date, sibling’s or a close relative’s name, personal address etc are easily compromised and lead to illegal access.

•    Avoid sharing your personal bio-details with too many people. E-mail accounts such as ‘yahoo’ can be compromised if an intruder provides your correct details such as date of birth, alternate e-mail address etc.