Re: Malware

7. Do not use -any- of these in picking your password:

Birthdays
Anniversaries
children's names
wives' names
pets' names
phone numbers
social security numbers
addresses

8. Do not use the answers to any of the common identifying questions:

pets' names
wife's maiden name
grandparents' name
college you went to
name of your hometown

8. Do not use -any- of these passwords:

123456
123456789
qwerty
password
1234567
12345678
iloveyou

To explain why you should not use any of the answers to the items in #8....

These days, it's rare to know a lot of the personal details about how and where a person grew up. People don't get a job in the same town where they grew up; their schoolmates aren't around to tell about those embarassing events in school.

Well... my parents did not stay in their home towns... but their legacies live on. One time I had to send flowers to my mother's family in her home town. Rather than just use 1-800-FlowersRus, I looked up the number of the local florist in her home town. I called up to order flowers.

The lady who took my order knew the family where I was sending flowers, and when I gave her my name, she said, "Oh, you're Catherine Shultz's boy!"

She knew of me, knew my mother, and the family.

So much for names and relations from your childhood being 'secret words!'

That's why I make up memorable names for the answers to the questions in #8.

--Paul E Musselman