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Passwords are a very important part of computer security. Make sure you have password-protected or deactivated all unused accounts on your computer, especially the "administrator" and "guest" accounts. "Guest" is a good candidate for deactivation, most users do not use it though some processes might try to. Many Windows NT/2000/XP computers become compromised because the owner forgets to create passwords for all of the local accounts including the "Administrator" and "Guest" accounts.
Choose passwords that are difficult to guess. They should be at least eight characters in length, contain and mixture of characters, digits, and punctuations marks. You should stay away from words that can be found in a dictionary (in any language). To make complex passwords more memorable, some people invent a pass-sentence and then build a password out of it (e.g. I ate my oatmeal today might become I8my02-day ). For systems with long password capabilities (XP, OSX and Linux support up to 127 characters), use the full sentence.
Here is a Help Desk page on Password Recommendations. Of course, you should never tell anyone your password. Access to your passwords allows anyone to assume your online identity.
With all of the passwords in use in daily life, one might be tempted to jot them on sticky notes around one's monitor. Don't, please. We'd recommend you try KeePass, which will store lots of passwords and password-related information in safely-encrypted form. It's available for Windows, MacOS X, Linux, PocketPC and PalmOS. It's free and pretty easy to use.
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