Software.com Find us on

Search

New users

Sign Up with Facebook

Don't use Facebook?

Create an account on Software.com to receive additional membership advantages, and to shop online quickly and easily.

Joining is free. All you need is a valid email address.

23 Jun 2011 By ABradney-George

When To Change A Password

23 Jun

Not Sure How Much Protection You Really Have With Your Current Password? This Guide Will Help You Figure Out When To Change A Password And How To Make It Stronger.

While many internet banking services will advise people when they need to change their passwords for security and protection, there are other login details that could be just as important and do not prompt password changes.

So when is a good time to change a password? Security technologist and author Bruce Shneier has speculated that changing passwords depends on what the password is used for, and mandatory password changes some services employ acts as a way of securing information and liability cases. He suggests that this is not necessarily as effective for other services like social networking sites, and that it is up to the individual when they change their password.

WiseGeek's answer to the password changing question goes further in pointing out that people who use a lot of public computers should probably change their passwords more often as you never know who is using the computer after you.

In most cases, what is more important than regularly changing a password is making sure it is secure. As software architect Troy Hunt points out on his blog, the most secure passwords are hard or impossible to remember.

This is where password managers can come in handy, because they allow people to store passwords for specific websites and services with strong encryptions for even more security. With programs like CyberScrub KeyChain you only need to remember a key phrase to get access to all your passwords and other password management features, while Password Genius from Spotmau also includes password recovery options.

With a password management system in place, creating strong, hard-to-remember passwords is much easier and a reliable way to keep information secure. After all, passwords are only ever used to protect people, so we might as well make the most out of them.