I worry about internet security. People don’t take it too seriously. In an article here in the New York Times, they talk about common passwords.

If your password is among those, you might want to consider switching (and running a virus scan).

What makes a good password? Well, it should have UPPER and lower case letters, numbers and symbols (like: @#$@!), be at 8 characters long (except where lame-o password programs demand less) and should not be guessable.

For example:

Ca$h4me!

Looks good but it’s too easily guessable. Another bad choice is something involving your initials and birthday — that sort of information is just too easy for a committed hacker to acquire. Ditto for the birthday of someone related closely to you. I’d say you’d be safer with the same combination when applied to a distant relative, say an uncle or a grandparent. Make it something you can remember, don’t write it down.

Let’s say, for example that I went to school with Barack Jefferson Bush when I was in elementary school many, many years (decades) ago and discovered that he was three weeks older than me — not the sort of thing anyone but me would remember. Then I might be safe with a password like:

0406=Bjb

Or, better yet you could use your favorite internet search engine to look for “secure password generator” and pick something like this from the possibilities listed.

But, please, be secure!