I’m going to comb through my profiles at the various social networking sites where I participate to see if any of them contain the passwords I use for my bank accounts, websites and anything else online.

The article “Forgot Your Password?” May be Weakest Link by Bob Thompson presents a compelling case for just how easy it can be for rip-off artists to find your passwords in social networking profiles.

As an experiment, Herbert Thompson, chief security strategist of People Security, recently asked a few friends for permission to “hack” into their bank accounts.  Using only information gathered from Web sites, Thompson found his way in within minutes.   

The best passwords are long passwords that use a combination of numerals and upper- and lower-case letters. I keep track of all my passwords using KeePass, a free password-protected software program that I love. A similar program, Roboform, which isn’t free, not only keeps track of passwords but automatically fills in online forms with just one click.

Posted In: Social networking
posted On: 8/26/2008: 10:15 am: By Joan
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