Recent events reminds us to change our passwords often.

With news that as many as 1.2 billion user names and password combinations had been stolen, security experts are urging consumers to be more vigilant online.

A Russian cyber gang injected malicious code into at least 420,000 websites to gather the data. The attack “looks absolutely enormous,” said Geoff Webb, senior director of security and strategy at NetIQ, a computer security company based in Houston. “It’s yet another example showing that there’s lot of work to be done in making the Web-based applications that people use secure.”

 

How to secure your online conduct:

keyboardMix it up. Create passwords that are 10 characters or longer and include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, symbols and numbers,.

Be more creative. Use a unique password for each account, and vary the e-mail addresses you use for accounts.

Split social media and money. Do not use the same password for credit cards and bank accounts that you use for social media or websites.

Revise record-keeping. Don’t store your account information in an unsecured document on your computer or network.

Keep data close. Don’t share your password, even with friends and family.

 

USA Today, August 6, 2014
Contributing: Jessica Guynn in San Francisco, Donna Leinwand Leger in McLean, Va.; and Elizabeth Weise in Las Vegas.

See the full article at USA Today