When's the last time you changed your passwords, or at least took a good look at how many systems or services you're using old, busted, insecure passwords with? Well, today is Change Your Password Day, and toegether with our friends at Gizmodo we're on a mission to make sure that you take the time to beef up your security, upgrade your password system, and most importantly, change your passwords now—especially if any of yours look like one of these.
Ready to take the first step towards password nirvana? Here are some articles that can get you started, and even help you build a password system that you'll spend less time worrying about and more time using, without the hassle of remembering dozens of different passwords or fretting every time a site gets hacked.
How to Audit and Update Your Passwords
When something like a password database compromise happens, it's a good time to reassess your online security. With the right tool, I've reset my Gawker Media password, and all others like it, in 3 minutes, from a train. More »
Your Passwords Aren't As Secure As You Think; Here's How to Fix That
If you allow applications to save your passwords, anyone with physical access to your PC can decode them unless you're properly encrypting them-and chances are pretty good you're not. More »
How I'd Hack Your Weak Passwords
If you invited me to try and crack your password, you know the one that you use over and over for like every web page you visit, how many guesses would it take before I got it? More »
The Only Secure Password Is the One You Can't Remember
Let's assume you log onto a bunch of different websites; Facebook, Gmail, eBay, PayPal, probably some banking, maybe a few discussion forums, and probably much, much more. More »
Geek to Live: Choose (and remember) great passwords
A secure, memorable password is easy for you to remember, and hard for others to guess.
Everywhere you turn you've got to come up with a password to register for something or another. More »
Use This Infographic to Pick a Good, Strong Password
We always enjoy a useful infographic, and there are few things quite as important as choosing a strong password-at least in the area of online security. More »
How to Build a (Nearly) Hack-Proof Password System with LastPass and a Thumb Drive
It seems like every day there's news that a new site or service has been hacked. The intruders make off with usernames and passwords, and even if they're encrypted the service forces users to change them. More »
LastPass Alternatives that Keep Your Passwords Safe from Online Hacking
After popular password manager LastPass faced a possible security breach yesterday, many of you are looking for an alternative password solution that doesn't store your passwords on someone else's servers. More »
Five Best Password Managers
As more of our work, play, and business is conducted online it becomes increasingly important to use a diverse set of strong passwords. This week we take a look at the five best password managers to keep your passwords organized.More »
Xkcd Password Generator Creates Long, Easy-to-Remember Passwords
Web comic xkcd notes that "through 20 years of effort, we've successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember, but easy for computers to guess." More »
When you're finished changing your passwords or setting up your ultimate password system, come back and let us know how you did it. Did you use LastPass, one of our favorite tools? Or perhaps the open-source marvel KeePass is your preferred tool? Maybe you're a 1Password kind of person, or alternatively you just jot down all of your secure passwords and keep them in your wallet. Whatever you do, let us know how you're improving your security today in the comments below.