List: '5 tips to keep your passwords secret'

Today’s ‘List Friday’. My life’s a maze of numbers. I bet yours is too. A jungle of them. The main ones are PINs and passwords. PINs and passwords are important – because, sorry to say, there are people out there who are intent on accessing and stealing what we use PINs and passwords to protect. Therefore PINs and passwords should be strong protectors. Why make it easy for thieves?

I’m ambivalent towards Microsoft. I use Windows and Office and some other Microsoft software. They don’t always work well, and they contain foibles that irritate me. But for me, on balance their advantages outweigh their disadvantages. However there’s no denying Microsoft’s a font (pun intended) of massive software experience. So when Microsoft published an article titled ‘Create strong passwords’ [1], it pricked my interest.

In this article there’s a lot of good non-list material – e.g. how to construct a strong password – and there’s a link to a password checker. Another link’s to a list: ‘5 tips to help keep your passwords secret’ [2]. These tips are self-explanatory; and to me (at least) they make sense. Whether you’re a PC user (like I am), or a Mac user (like Sweetheart Vivienne and our four darling daughters are), it’s worth taking a couple of minutes to review this list to see if your password habits need improving. And the same five tips apply to PINs, of course.