Passwords, yes, sometimes those can be a problem. How do you make a password up that is impossible to break yet make it easy enough for you to remember? Some use their child's name, others use their own names, and some even use their addresses for passwords. None of these will be effective since they are easily guessed at.

You need a foolproof password, one that you will remember always and one that is hard to crack. You can ask someone to help you make up a password, but that jeopardizes the security of your password. You must know your password but nobody else needs to know it. Here are some ways to make up some passwords that are easy to remember:

* Use a combination of things rather than just one word or number. You can take the name of a book and use each of the first letters, and then add your Aunt Tilley's address. There that is easy to remember yet almost impossible for one of those password-breaking programs to hack into.

* Use six fruits or vegetables and use their first letters. Say you like a particular fruit salad? What is in it? Pineapples, Oranges, Apples, Bananas, Figs, Raisins -so your fruit salad password is POABFR then add someone's address to the end of that. It is practically foolproof.

* Or take your five grandchildren's names and use the first two letters of all of them. Again, foolproof, because the resulting word does not spell anything at all.

These are ways to make up passwords that will work for you. These passwords will keep your online business safe and secure. (The above-listed phrases are just for example). Think up your own combinations and fool those password-stealing programs forever.

By Linda A. Perry