Tips

· Passwords should not be created using personal information about yourself or your family. A password cracker with incentive to break your personal password will use this information first, making these passwords the least secure passwords. Examples of bad passwords of this type are: you’re name, birthplace, nickname, family name, names of pets, street address, parent’s names, names of siblings and the like.

· Passwords should not be formed of words out of any dictionary or book. Longer words do not generally add much protection. Using known words in any language allows the password cracker to take shortcuts in his password cracking schemes, allowing him to guess your password in a very small fraction of the time it would take otherwise. Examples of bad passwords of this type are: dragon, secret, cheese, god, love, sex, life and similar words.

· Passwords should not be composed of proper nouns of places, ideas, or people. These words are commonly found in password cracker databases. Examples are: Jehovah, Tylenol, edutainment, Coli, bee’s knees, transformers.

· Passwords should not be simple variations of words. Although these passwords don't appear in a book or dictionary, it is a simple matter to generate a replacement word list automatically. These passwords are more secure than the above two examples, but not significantly more secure. Examples of passwords of this type are drowse, l0ve, s3cr3t, dragon, and similar word-like terms.

· Passwords should not be a concatenation of two words commonly following each other in a sentence. These passwords are more secure than the above password concepts, but still fall far short for password security. Examples of these kinds of passwords are: what for, divine right, bigwig, love, farfetched, cat’s pajamas.

· Do not reuse recently employed passwords again. If you find it difficult to pick a new password, you should wait until you changed your password at least 5 times before reusing an old password, or 12 months if password changes are common.

· Always change your password immediately if you feel that your password has been compromised. Always do this directly. Never follow links sent to you in email, through an instant messenger client, or from a phone call you received. Ask for administrative assistance if you have trouble changing your password.

· Do not write your password down where others may find it. If you must write it down, ensure it is in a locked location that is only accessible to you. Hiding your password in places you feel it is unlikely to be found is not helpful. Password crackers have a criminal mind, and generally know where to look.

· It is important that you change your password on a regular schedule, at least every six months. This assists you by throwing off any cracking efforts that might be in progress, but have not yet been completed. It also helps you if somehow you have compromised your password in some other way without knowing it.

· Select passwords that use a mixture of capital letters, numbers, and special characters. Take heed however, some systems do not allow you to use some or any special characters. Make sure you check the password criteria for the system you are using ahead of time, if possible.

· Use substitution of numbers for letters and letters for numbers in your passwords. Although this is not a primary method of securing your password, it will add another layer of security on top of a good password, and will prevent the accidental guess of your password due to circumstances.

· Where it is not possible to use many characters in your password (less than 14), it is advisable to create a password by creating a passphrase, and selecting letters in a specific position in each word. An example of this is "jJjshnImn2". As you notice, it's unlikely that any cracker would guess this password; however, it is easy to remember when you note the passphrase "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, his name is my name too". Notice the use of number substitution and capitalization in the password.

· The best passwords are complete phrases if the system will allow them. They are sometimes called "passphrases" in reflection of this. For example, a good passphrase might be "I clean my Glock in the dishwasher." You can also use number and letter substitution on passphrases as well. Longer passphrases generally mean better password security.

Taking action against Viruses

• Always keep your anti-virus updated to detect and eliminate viruses that may be in your computer otherwise an outdated anti-virus will not be able to detect anything.


• Always do a whole system scan occasionally in case a virus is hidden without your knowledge.


• Always backup your important files such as invoices, business contracts, etc. on another drive or an external drive incase a virus is able to delete or modify your files.


• Always beware when downloading files from the internet without checking it for viruses, especially from suspicious people. One of the popular methods of spreading viruses are through uploaded files.


• Never rely on only one anti-virus to scan files because there might be viruses that your one anti-virus isn't able to detect. Some online file scanners are examples of using multiple anti-viruses to scan a file for viruses.


• Never open e-mail messeges from whom you don't recognize and always scan before you download the e-mail even if it is people you know. Safety precautions are always taken.

Cleaning Tips

• Clean your system every now and then to improve performance of the computer parts otherwise dust will cause your system to heat up faster and lead to system breakdowns.


• Always use suggested cleaning material other than materials


• Always place your computer on a table or shelf instead of the ground


• Always make sure the power cord is unplugged from the computer before doing any cleaning.


• Use a vacuum cleaner or compressed air to go all around your system and clean it.


• Use a damp cloth to clean the case, and make sure no fluid leaks on to the computer parts.


• Careful when eating or drinking around a computer.

Maintaining your Computer

• Do not drop the computer when transporting it, it will causing damage to parts from within the system.


• Do not shake the computer when it is running, it may cause the system to crash.


• Never shut down the computer immediately because it can cause data to be corrupted and lost as well.


• Try working in a clean environment that doesn't have a lot of dust.

By maintaining and taking care of your computer, less problems and errors will occur and the life of your computer will be exteneded. Some maintaining tasks include:

• Organizing all the files and folder on your computer and remove files that are not needed.


• Update windows to patch up any problems and make the computer run smoother.


• Create a backup of your system in case something happens to your computer.


• Update anti-virus daily and scan the computer occasionally for viruses.


• Optimize and clean your hard drive to get rid of useless files and data.


• Scan the hard drive for errors to make sure the hard drive is running efficiently.


• Clean the dust out of your computer once every month.