With the widespread use of computers and mobile devices, password security has become an important part of computer security. Bank, email and social networking accounts store personal information--such as date of birth, address and even credit card numbers--which are protected only by a password.

Passwords are necessary to keep your accounts safe and to prove that you are who you say you are. The most efficient password should be strong enough to thwart hackers, yet easy enough for you to remember.

How to create a strong password
Your confidential information is probably not safe unless you use at least an 8-digit randomized password. If you use less than 8 characters, and you restrict your characters to only alphabetic letters, it can be cracked in minutes. Many systems now require passwords to be at least 8 characters in length. Studies reveal that the longer and more complex the password, the harder it is to crack.

A strong password should:
• Be at least 8 characters in length
• Contain both upper and lowercase alphabetic characters (e.g. A-Z, a-z)
• Have at least one numerical character (e.g. 0-9)
• Have at least one special character (e.g. ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ + =)

A strong password should not:

• Spell a word or series of words that can be found in a standard dictionary (e.g. angrybirds, mypassword, daisymae)
• Spell a word with a number added to the beginning and/or the end (e.g. johnsmith1, password123, daisy8703)
• Be based on any personal information such as user id, family name, pet, birthday, etc. (e.g. johnsmith, mydogrover, 10311978)
• Be based on a keyboard pattern (e.g. qwerty) or duplicate characters (e.g. asdfgh, aabbccdd, 456789)

Use a passphrase or a nonsensical word
Rather than trying to remember a password created using various character types which is also not a word from the dictionary, you can use a passphrase. Think up a sentence or a line from a song or poem that you like and create a password using the first letter from each word.

A passphrase could be a lyric from a song or a favorite quote. An example of a strong passphrase is “Superman is $uper str0ng!”. A nonsensical word can built using the first letter from each word in a phrase (e.g. C$200wpG., represents "Collect $200 when passing Go."). These typically have additional benefits such as being longer and easier to remember.

Each system or application may have different password restrictions or requirements. Unfortunately, some systems don’t allow the use of special characters (e.g. ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ + =), so when you’re confined to letters and numbers, you’ll need to make extra sure the password you create is complex enough.

Grab a piece of paper and a pen and practice creating strong passwords by modifying the following phrases. For example:

“She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah!” could be modified to: sLuY3ah!

Now it’s your turn.
• I sense great fear in you, Skywalker.
• The hills are alive with the sound of music.
• Holy haberdashery, Batman!

Check the strength of your password
It’s a good idea to check the strength of the password you’ve created. Some websites offer a built-in password checker that evaluates the strength of your password when you’re setting up your account. But if you want to check the strength of your other passwords, try using Microsoft’s password checker.

• Device auto-lock - Configure your device to lock automatically after a period of time. Only those with knowledge of the passcode can unlock the device.

• Device encryption – Protect your mobile device by preventing access from intruders, eavesdropping or interception of data in transit by using encryption technology.

• Remote wiping - Install remote locate, track, lock, wipe, backup and restore software to retrieve, protect or restore a lost or stolen mobile device and the personal data on that device.

Follow these tips to keep your mobile device secure and to protect your data and privacy against the growing mobile malware threats.

1. Do not circumvent or disengage security features such as passcodes and auto-locks.
2. Set the device to lock after a set period of inactivity. A recommended inactive period setting is 10 minutes or less.
3. Ensure that you have GPS device location in the event of theft or loss.
4. Use caution when downloading apps and free software, especially from unsanctioned online stores.
5. Install an on-device personal firewall to protect mobile device interfaces from direct attack.
6. Install anti-spam software to protect against unwanted voice and SMS or MMS communications.
7. Install real-time anti-malware technology via cloud services that continually analyzes and re-analyzes websites and mobile applications. Protect against malicious applications, spyware, infected secure digital (SD) cards and malware-based attacks.
8. Turn off “beaming” (infrared data transmission).
9. Turn off the Wi-Fi when you’re not using it; and avoid using public, unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots.
10. Before discarding any device, make sure it is wiped clean and restored to factory defaults.
11. Threats to mobile devices are pervasive and escalating. Through malware, loss and theft, misconduct, and direct attacks, users are increasingly susceptible to devastating compromises of mobile devices.
12. Don't not let your mobile devices be used by children, who frequently download cool-looking but unknown free apps that might be malicious.

As the popularity of social networking sites continues to grow, so do the security risks associated with them. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin have become main targets for hackers.

Because of the threat posed by cyber criminals, taking it upon yourself to secure your social networking accounts is of the utmost importance. Below are several tips for securing your social networking accounts to keep hackers out and your private information safe.

1. Learn to identify which types of situations make you uncomfortable, and
   then alter your behaviour to make the best of your circumstances.
2. Learn to become aware of behaviours in other people that may cause you to respond negatively. As you are unlikely to be able to change the other person, you must be able to modify your own behaviour to turn the situation into a positive experience.
3. Take ownership for your behaviour and be willing to apologize for lapses or errors in judgment or insensitive actions.
4. Ask others for their honest feedback about the way you interact with them. Accept the negative feedback along with the positive (without getting defensive) and make changes accordingly.
5. Be aware of you body language. Non-verbal communication is more important than what you have to say. Positive body language will benefit your interactions with other people.
6. Learn to listen with genuine interest. Fight the urge to respond immediately and really listen to what the other person is trying to say.
7. Accept that improving your social skills is not an overnight process. Trying to improve or change too many things at once will be counter-productive as you will feel so uncomfortable that you may suffer an emotional hijacking.
8. Maximize your positive personality traits and use them to your advantage when interacting with others.

Internet users are widely using Wi-Fi devices to access Internet. Every year millions of Wi-Fi devices are sold in the market. Out of these most of the wireless devices are vulnerable in their default configuration mode. Since end users are not fully aware of security levels to be set on these devices, these get rendered vulnerable. By taking advantage of these unsecured Wi-Fi devices terrorists and hackers fulfill their needs.

Anyone with Wi-Fi connectivity in his computer, laptop or mobile can connect to unsecured Access Points(wireless routers).Anyone in the range of Access point can connect to an Access Point if it is unsecured. Once the connection is established the attacker can send mails, download classified/confidential stuff, initiate attack on other computers in the network, send malicious code to others, install a Trojan or botnet on the victims computer to get long term control on it through Internet, etc.

                                                         All these criminal acts will naturally be associated with the legal user of Access Point(wireless router). It is up to the legal user of the Access Point to defend himself to prove that he has not been involved in these acts. It now becomes the responsibility of the  user to secure his/her own Access Point.

Lets see some real incidents that took place in the recent years. Terrorists and hackers used unsecured Access Points to perform illegal activities on the internet. Hackers penetrated into open Wi-Fi network of luxury hotels owned by the Thompson Group in New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC and stole the private emails sent by the guests. The hackers then attempted to extort money from the hotel chain by threatening to publish the emails.(www.crpcc.in) Just 5 minutes before Delhi blasts on September 2008 terrorists used an unsecured Wi-Fi connection of a company at Chembur in Mumbai to send terror emails to authorities and news channels. These hackers do not leave a trail of footprints for the investigators to arrive at a logical conclusion. The audit trail ends at Wi-Fi Access Point of the legal user. So it is becomes imperative for the users to secure their own Access Points(wireless router). The following are the steps to secure an Access Point.

Tips for securing Wireless Communications.

Always use strong password for encryption
A strong password should have atleast 15 characters, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbol. Also it is recommended to change the encryption key frequently so that it makes difficult for the cracker to break the encryption key. Do not use WEP for encryption, rather use WPA/WPA2.

Restrict access to the Access Point based on MAC address
In order to allow authorized users to connect to the Access Point, wireless clients  should be provided access based on MAC address.

Change the default username and Password of the Access Point
Most of the users do not change the default passwords while configuring the Access Point. But it is recommended to keep a strong password, as this default password information can be known from product manufacturers. 

Do not broadcast your network name
SSID information is used to identify a Access Point in the network and also the wireless clients connect to the network using this information. Hence, in order to allow authorized users to connect to the network, the information should not be provided in public. 

Disable DHCP service                   
When the number of users accessing the Access Point is less, it is recommended to disable the DHCP service. As this may make the attackers easy to connect to the network once they get associated with the Access Point.

Shutdown the Access Point when not in use
Hackers try to brute force the password to break the keys, so it is good practice to turnoff  the Access points during extended periods of Non-use.  

• Change the name of your router: The default ID - called a service set identifier (SSIS) or extended service set identifier (ESSID ) – is assigned by the manufacturer. Change your router to a name that is unique to you and won't be easily guessed by others.

• Change the pre-set password on your router: When creating a new password, make sure it is long and strong, using a mix of numbers, letters and symbols.

• Review security options: When choosing your router’s level of security, opt for WPA2, if available, or WPA. They are more secure than the WEP option.

• Create a guest password: Some routers allow for guests to use the network via a separate password.  If you have many visitors to your home, it's a good idea to set up a guest network.

• Use a firewall: Firewalls help keep hackers from using your computer to send out your personal information without your permission. While anti-virus software scans incoming email and files, a firewall is like a guard, watching for attempts to access your system and blocking communications with sources you don't permit. Your operating system and/or security software likely comes with a pre-installed firewall, but make sure you turn on these features.