Many websites require a user to register a user name and password in order to gain access and privileges on the site. Any type of financial institution (bank, credit card, etc) certainly requires a password to gain access to your account; this provides protection against identity theft and fraud. A strong password offers you greater protection against a hacker trying to gain access to your information.

Here are some suggestions for creating a strong password:

1	Keep your passwords private and do not share them with others. It may seem very elementary but if you must share a password is someone, anyone, remember to immediately change it to something else.
2	Pick a password that is meaningless to others. Choose a password that you can remember (or use a password manager) but make sure the password is completely meaningless to anyone else.
3	A password should be a minimum of eight characters in length. Many banking websites will simply not allow a password less than eight characters in length and even some are switching to 16 characters or more.
4	Don't use a password containing all of the same characters. Choose a password that contains numbers, letters, and symbol characters. G@Buck3yz! is an example of a strong password.
5	Create a password with both lowercase and uppercase letters. This makes it more difficult for hackers and thieves to utilize more common methods of password cracking such as automated dictionary hurlers.
6	Never send your password via email or provide it over the phone. If you absolutely have to always remember to change it once the recipient is completed and no longer needs it.
7	Try to create a password that is not a dictionary word. These passwords are easier to hack and to plainly guess. Yahoo recently reported that the most commonly used password is actually “password”! Do not do this; it is a ridiculously easy password to guess and your accounts could be compromised.
8	Never use your telephone number, zip code, address or portions of your social security number.
9	Passwords are not foolproof. Do not rely on a password alone to protect sensitive information. Monitor accounts closely to ensure that security is not breached.
10	Use a sentence or common saying that you will remember to help you create your random password. For example you may use 'I really love the Lexus SC-430!' and your password would appear as IrltheLS-43! which is a much more difficult password to guess or crack than using simply lexus430.

Additional Best Practices

Here are some more suggestions for safeguarding your passwords to keep them from being compromised.

• Change your password every three months.
  
• Keep your passwords private and do not share them with others.
  
• Don't share your account with anyone.
  
• Passwords are not foolproof. Do not rely on a password alone to protect sensitive information. Monitor accounts closely to ensure that security is not breached.
  
• Deactivate the accounts of all former employees.