You need to change passwords often! By changing your password regularly you make it more difficult for others to access your confidential data.

Make strong passwords, utilizing pass phrases that you can remember. Choose a phrase, song lyrics, poem, book title or something that is important only to you then use the first letter of each word. Next add a special character, number and/or capitalize some of the characters to help make the password more secure. Here's an example password: traffic on I-95 is horrible could become Toi#95ih

What makes a strong password? There are definite dos and don'ts when making up your password.

• Passwords should be a minimum of 8 characters; the longer the password the more secure it is.
• Passwords should be made up of characters, numbers and special symbols.
• You should be able to type the password quickly without looking at the keyboard. This prevents someone memorizing the password if they are looking over your shoulder.
• Add special characters to your password such as #, “, {, ?. Use of the full keyboard, not just the symbols on the upper keys.
• Passwords should appear as a random string of characters.
• Have different passwords for different accounts. If a password is compromised then all of your accounts won't be vulnerable.

• Don't use your name, family, friends or pet's names in any form.
• Never use your social security number, driver's license number, license plate number or any other number issued to you.
• Birthdates, phone numbers or addresses should never be used.
• Never use your username, computer's name or names of places.
• Don't repeat any letters such as tt, gg or rr.
• Never use letters, numbers in sequence such as 1234 or abcd.
• Don't use words from English or foreign dictionaries.
• Don't spell your name backwards and add a character to your name.

Protecting your password is very important on the Internet as phishing scams happen daily. Never send your password in email or respond to an email request for your password. Don't give your password to someone over the phone – even a support person. They should be able to already access your account or reset your password if need be.

Strong passwords, protecting those passwords and changing passwords regularly will help keep your identity and accounts safe.