When you signed up for Twitter, if you were a newbie to the web, you probably picked a password like “password” or “12345678” which are now banned along with 368 other password choices for being “too obvious.”
TechCrunch compiled the full list and asks what I was thinking- how did they come up with the 370 “too obvious” passwords they’ve banned? Did they analyze current passwords on Twitter or did they consult with one of those got-really-rich-in-1999-hackers to advise them?
Regardless, it is imperative for your overall web security that you choose passwords that are not obvious. If you check out the List of 370 banned passwords, you’ll see that most of them are under 10 characters and few of them combine words and numbers. It’s a good idea to keep your passwords obscure and complicated so obviously, don’t use your birthday, your spouse’s name or other sentimental details. Because I’m a digital native (was raised with computers in my life), it is natural for me to consider my passwords but that’s not the case with everyone, so keep a smart mind about your passwords, change them frequently (I do it almost monthly but that’s pretty paranoid, you don’t have to go quite THAT far).
Blair - Homes for Sale in Utah
December 29, 2009 at 10:04 am
Hey there! I can’t imagine the password I’ve been using since I started creating accounts on the internet were one of the passwords banned by twitter. Well, that’s not nice, I think I have to stop using it from now on. anyway, thanks for letting us informed about this. 😉
Paul
December 29, 2009 at 2:46 pm
What a clever way to stop there users from being hacked!
Sumina Bhatti
January 2, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Hey Lani, check out LastPass.com. It is an online password management system that is pretty highly ranked by my resident tech-expert. I have been using it for a while now and life is a LOT easier. It can also autogenerate passwords as well, so they are super-secure.