2bridges loves security.  From bike chains, to combination lockers, to that little sealer thing on the top of ziplock bags.  One of the first lines of defense in the digital world is knowing how to correctly select a password.  Here are a few quick do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when trying to protect your personal information online:

Do use both upper and lower case letters.

Do include digits and/or punctuation in addition to letters.

Do have your password use a minimum of twelve characters.

Do make your password easily memorized, so they do not have to be written down.

Do be able to type your password quickly, so no one else can memorize it when it’s being entered.

Do store your passwords in an encrypted file or somewhere passing traffic cannot see.

Don’t select your password to match your username. This is the most common mistake and the most easy to exploit. NEVER do it.

Don’t use passwords that are named after yourself, family, pets or personal dates.

Don’t use words that are in the dictionary. These are easy to crack using a “brute force” technique.

Don’t add a digit in front of or reverse a word (ex. “1password” or “drowssap”).

Don’t use the same password over and over.  If a hacker should break one password, the rest of your files  and information will still be safe.

Don’t give your password to anyone else.