When you register an account on any web site, you are asked to come up with your own personal password for ongoing access. Most people, unfortunately, use the same password for every web site that they sign up for – and that can be fine, as long as you use a secure method of creating a password. Using a unique, secure password is extremely important because it is the only protection you have of preventing someone from using your online information, such as your bank account, credit card accounts, and other vital information. If your password is stolen or compromised, the thief can use that information to also obtain your identity and use your information to ruin your credit and cause you all manner of grief.
To avoid such a consequence, you should create what is called a strong password, which means a password that people will not be able to retrieve simply from knowing you and information about you, such as your first name, birthday, Social Security number, or other weak passwords that people use because they are so easy to remember. That’s why they are also so easy to steal!
Worse yet, people who randomly hack into computer systems to obtain...