Recently the database at PHPBB.com was hacked, exposing the passwords of all 20,000 users on the popular site. Of course, PHPBB.com is mainly used as a trouble-shooting forum for the software itself. This basically means that most people registered there will probably be fairly tech-literate. However, you wouldn’t think so based on the red-alert list of passwords. The number one password was “123456″, followed by “password”, then “12345678″.  “1234″, and a word which would be best left unsaid to preserve the integrity of this site.

So, why such poor passwords? Well, people probably don’t feel that their account will ever be hacked (and in this case it was the whole forum that was), or at least worth hacking. However, you should always play it safe and go with a good password. Though for many people these key points will be common sense, I feel they are worth some ink:

1. Compose your password of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (!@#$%^&*<>|{}).
2. If you are good at remembering, choose random strings (ek:yqEO*>#6hWb) or, if you (like myself) could never remember that, then go with l33t speak; replace letters with similar looking special characters and numbers. Also use a pattern to alternate lower and uppercase letters. Also make sure that the phrase you base it off is not common, like password (so don’t go with p@5sW()P,d).
3. Avoid using patterns on the keyboard, like !@#$%^&*(), 134567890, qwertyui, asdfghj, zxcvbn, qazwsxedc, and the list goes on.
4. Always make sure to use different passwords for different sites, just in case one of the logins is discovered.
5. If you have a problem remembering passwords, don’t store a list electronically. Instead, keep all logins on physical paper and locked in a safe. Certainly don’t use the key-under-the-mat trick, or, in this case, store your password on the back of your computer or under your keyboard.
6. Don’t tell anyone else your passwords. Obviously, there are people you can probably trust (like your best friend since junior high school), but still be careful.
7. Be extra careful with sites containing sensitive information, like bank accounts. To a lesser extent, sites like Facebook and Myspace should also be closely guarded.
8. Finally, change your password every so often.

Really, to sum things up, use common sense and you should be safe.