Most folks understand the importance of creating secure passwords, but many of us still resort to passwords that are easy for us to remember, which in turn usually make them less secure. With identify theft and online criminal activity on the rise, it is important to understand what is a secure password and what is not.

Let's first take a look at non-secure or bad passwords. A bad password is something that is easy for a thief to guess. Your name, your birthday or anniversary, or your kid's names are all examples of bad passwords. Also be aware that thieves will be sure to try the most commonly used passwords known around the web:

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. blink182
10. (your first name)

Our guess is some of you reading this right now are using one or more of the passwords above. If so, you may want to consider the following options for securing your passwords:

1. Completely random passwords are your best form of protection. Unfortunately there is not an easy way remember a random set of characters unless you use a software package like Roboform to keep track of all your passwords. The benefit of Roboform is you only have to remember ONE secure password, and Roboform will remember the rest for you.

2. Another option, you can store all your passwords in an encrypted, secure file on your computer. There is a free program that can help you do this called TrueCrypt.

As we mentioned above, you will still need to remember at least ONE secure password to access RoboForm or TrueCrypt. Then you can use random strings for your other passwords.

Hope this helps!