My Dog's Name is J&k3RsW4 & My Mother's Maiden Name is Ks8$b!5s6

Hello! I’m Systems Engineer Jim Taylor, and my dog’s name is J&k3RsW4 and my mother’s maiden name is Ks8$b!5s6.

So, what does this have to do with technology? A poll of close to 2,000 adults discovered that 55% of them used the same password for almost every website! Just over 25% said that they use easy to remember passwords such as birthdays, sports, and people's names. That is just asking for a cyber-criminal to have access to your online accounts.

It’s clear that the average user needs some password schooling in order to maintain security, both at home and in the workplace.

It's OK to Lie to Websites About Your Secrets

It's not a great idea to use "secret" answers to protect your accounts when those answers are easy for unauthorized parties to find out or guess. Just ask Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and other celebrities that had their private pictures posted on the internet. They were all individually targeted by hackers, after the hackers broke into each celebrity’s online accounts by using actual usernames, passwords and security codes.

People should stop thinking they have to answer honestly every question they are asked on the web. If a website asks you your mother's maiden name, the name of your first school, or favorite pet, ask yourself if they really have any way to check if you are telling the truth or not.

The website doesn't care if you have answered truthfully or not, so you should give it an answer that no one else can find out or guess. That will keep your account more secure.

If you cannot remember all your different passwords, use password management software. Just make sure that your master password is really strong and that you won’t forget it. Next time, try out LastPass, 1Password, or KeePass to choose the name of your High School Mascot.

Oh, and if you are trying to hack my account, I went to School at HU78$@LK, and the name of my childhood best friend is N*&WEdd4p.

Posted by: Systems Engineer Jim Taylor