Not fear-mongering, not science fiction. There are crooks in the Internet laying siege, trying to guess your password and break into your accounts. That is YOUR EMAIL, YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS, YOUR WEB SITE, RIGHT NOW, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. What are you going to do about it? 

Constant Banging

When we check and monitor the secure logs on our servers, we ALWAYS find them filled with entries from unauthorized invaders. In 9 years they have rarely gained access, but they are getting better, and they never stop. Of course, we have programs and procedures to blacklist anyone we catch, but they just move to a different address and start over again. The logs indicate automated processes, a steady stream of assault. It's a constant banging away at the system trying different passwords, different port, different protocols to somehow break in to your system. With automated processes, how long to you think it will take them to guess your password?

Most of the assailants are from China lately, and Brazil and Russia, but there is a good spread from many countries, including the U.S.A. They are generally crooks, plain and simple, and have little interest in any political agenda, aside form perhaps terrorism. 

No Way to Stop It

No firewall, no software, no amount of money or expertise can completely stop the siege. All they can do is pass it on or channel it. Unless you are completely disconnected from the Internet, you have access points, and there is no way to disconnect your email or your web site or even your bank accounts from the Internet. Every access point is a doorway--without doorways it's a closed room and total useless. Every doorway has a lock and key for protection. That's your password. 

Fear of a Password

I am astounded at the lack of secure passwords out there. Our clients frequently ask us to set passwords for them or to access online accounts using their passwords. VERY FEW would be considered secure. We encourage it, and our systems often require a modicum of security, but people are often too worried about forgetting or losing their passwords to make new better passwords. Truth is, bad passwords are just as easily lost as good ones. The only real cure is to buckle down and find a system for saving or recording your passwords in a safe place and to be diligent about maintaining them. Otherwise, it always falls on service providers like you to remember our passwords so we can help you restore yours. 

How to Build a Password

Currently the standard is this:

• Make it at least 8 characters long. 
• Include a mix of letters and numbers. 
• Include at least one uppercase and one lowercase letter. 
• Include at least one character that isn't a number or a letter, such as punctuation. 

Keep EVERYONE Safe

Your password security is important to everyone. Many systems are only as secure as their weakest link. If you're the weak password in the system, and your account is broken into, not only will you suffer, but the crooks could expertly find a way to exploit the whole system from that point. The only way to keep any system truly secure is for EVERYONE to keep good passwords--NO EXCEPTIONS.