Often, there is really only one thing standing between your sensitive information and criminals — your password. If they get it, they can get into banks accounts and private files, and wreak havoc.For this reason, it's important to know what makes a password strong and secure.

通常，个人敏感信息和犯罪分子之间仅有一墙之隔——密码。如果密码泄漏，他们就能肆无忌惮地入侵你的银行账户和私人文件。因此，密码的设置就有讲究了。

This is Secure Passwords Explained by Common Craft. Chances are, you use passwords everyday. To open your computer, to log into your favorite websites, to get work done. The easy route is to have a simple password that works everywhere. Unfortunately, this can be a problem.

本期介绍如何设置安全密码。密码天天都用。开电脑要密码、登录网站要密码、处理工作还要密码。你可以图方便，设置统一的密码。但这么干，准会出事。

Criminals are very good at guessing passwords. Some have computer programs that can make millions of guesses until something works. And if they already know information about you, it's even easier. Your job is to create a password that is very hard to guess. Here's how:

犯罪分子的特长就是破解密码。有些甚至利用电脑程序来破解密码。如果知道你的个人信息，密码破解起来就更简单了。所以你需要设置一个难破解的密码：

Your first thought may be to use a pet's name, a birthdate, an address or parts of a phone number. These things are too easy for criminals to discover, so don't use them.

通常宠物的名字、生日、地址或电话号码都是密码的首选。但这类信息太容易泄漏，所以这种密码想都不要想。

Your password should not include info about you. Thankfully, there are ways to have memorable, but hard-to-guess passwords. Consider this: In addition to single words, phrases can also be easy to remember. Maybe it's a favorite song lyric, or quote.

密码不应包含个人信息，有些办法可以让密码又好记，又不易破解，短语是个不错的选择。可以选喜欢的歌词或者名言。

An example is "Jack and Jill Went Up The Hill" That's easy to remember, right? Well, your password is there — it's the first letter of each word. In this example, this would be your password. That's not something that is easily guessed.

比如 Jack and Jill Went Up The Hill. 好记吧？把每个单词的首字母组合起来得到一个词，用这个词当密码，就不容易被破解了。

Here's why. First — it's not in the dictionary. This makes guessing it harder. There are about 60,000 words in English. A computer can test out those words pretty quickly, so don't use them.

首先，词典里没这词，破解的难度就增加了。英语单词大概6万个，计算机可以将它们很快试个遍，千万别用这种密码。

But there's more. This password could still be stronger by adding upper case letters, numbers or special characters. So this is a very strong password — but there's still a risk.

但还不保险。可以在密码里加入大写字母、数字或特殊字符。这密码就碉堡了，但还是存在风险。

If you write it down, be careful where you keep it. And be aware that someone can look over your shoulder or find it in your trash.

如果把密码写在纸上，千万要小心。保不齐别人偷窥或从垃圾桶里翻出来。

Giving it to loved-ones is also risky — they may not be as cautious as you are. Only you should know your password.

把密码告诉亲友也有风险，没准他们比你还马虎。自己保存密码才靠谱。

Criminals may also try to fool you into handing it over via phone calls. Never tell anyone your password over the phone. And be careful when you get an email that asks for a password — it could be a scam.

罪犯分子可能会打电话骗你说出密码。千万不要在电话里面告诉别人。收到要求输入密码的电子邮件时一定要小心，可能是陷阱。

To help avoid problems, don't use the same password everywhere — that's like having one key that unlocks everything you own. The stakes are high if you lose it.

也不要在所有地方使用相同密码，就像不要给锁配万能钥匙一样。否则密码丢了就惨了。

Also, be careful if you use a computer that is not yours. Let's say you check email using a computer in a store, library or computer lab. You login, check email and walk away.

此外 在用别人的计算机时要特别小心，比如用商店、图书馆或网吧的电脑收邮件。登录了账号，查完邮件没退出就走了。

The next person to use that computer now has access to your email account and all the information in it. Always remember to log out of each site you visit on a computer that isn't yours.

下一个用电脑的人就能进入你的账户，所以一定要记得 用完要退出账户。

Passwords are an essential part of life online. And if we're not careful about keeping them secret, they can cause big problems. By understanding the risks and making passwords stronger, we can feel a little more secure.

网络离不开密码。密码保存不注意，很可能吃大亏。提高防范意识，设置强大的密码能省心不少。