AboutYan Ross Expertise Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS) -- providing responses to questions on identity theft prevention and restoration for consumers and holders of protected information (Personally Identifiable Information)
Experience Recognized and quoted authority in the area of Identity Theft.
Principal Contributing Author to the Identity Theft Risk Management Study Guide published by the Institute of Consumer Financial Education. Frequent lecturer on this subject to attorneys and other professionals, as well as law enforcement and community groups.
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts, Princeton University --
Juris Doctor, Yale Law School --
Accredited Educator for numerous professional disciplines
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts, Princeton University --
Juris Doctor, Yale Law School --
Accredited Educator for numerous professional disciplines
For all web sites where money is concerned, I use (different), quite complicated passwords.
But for sites I use only to get information (Wikipedia, NY Times, etc.) I use a (the same) simple password that's easy to remember.
Is there any reason not to do this? What harm could come from someone learning this password? (Incidentally, no one else has access to my computer.)
Many thanks,
Steved
Answer Hello, Steve!
Choosing complex passwords and changing them often is a good practice, especially for accounts where financial matters are concerned.
There are only a couple of practical drawbacks to using simple passwords for access to non-financial web sites: potential embarrassment if someone logged on as you and wrote controversial or just stupid comments on a web site; performing searches or going to embarrassing web sites pretending to be you; giving the web sites bogus information about your personal information or preferences.
But that is an unlikely result, especially if you are the only one with access to your computer -- which I assume is passworded for logon.
If you are as careful with guarding your identity-theft-related information offline as you are online, you have a good start on avoiding becoming a victim of identity theft.
