It seems like a very common topic. Passwords. As we are currently in the wake of yet another password breach, this time encompassing over 5 million Gmail passwords, it seems like no matter what you do, your password can and will be stolen. What should you do if you are a victim or simply want to see if your password was one of the compromised? Furthermore, how can you pick a safe password?

Check out this list of 6 things to NOT do when choosing or managing your passwords.

1.  Use those websites that you type in your password to check if it was one of the compromised ones. Seriously, don’t do it! Can you really trust these websites and what’s the use? If you think for a second that you could be one of the victims CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD.

2. Not using two-factor authentication. Turn on two-factor authentication whenever it’s offered. I know that it can be a pain, but it will help keep your online accounts safer. If for any reason your password is hacked, someone won’t be able to login to your account without the 2nd authentication.

3.  Be lazy. If any of these most common passwords are yours, change them NOW.

1.  123456
2. 123456789
3. password
4. admin
5. 12345678
6. qwerty
7. 1234567
8. 111111
9. photoshop
10. 123123
11. 1234567890
12. 000000
13. abc123
14. 1234
15. adobe1
16. macromedia
17. azerty
18. iloveyou
19. aaaaaa
20. 654321

4. Choose a password that is related to anything that has special meaning to you, ie: your pets name, birthday, address, family members names, etc. We know, we know, it’s easy to remember though! But, these things are easy to find out about a person with a quick search on Google and should not be used for passwords.

5. Not using a string of random words, as suggested by xkcd. A string of random words may seem hard to remember, but this cartoon illustrates how it is actually way easy.

6. Not using a a password manager like Keepass, Lastpass, or 1Password. Once you have your super secure, hard to remember password, it’s just that, HARD TO REMEMBER. These password management programs will help you manage your passwords securely. With most, your passwords are stored behind a master password. You only need to remember one password to access the rest. These programs will even generate safe passwords for you to use.

What tricks to do you use when choosing and creating passwords AND keeping them safe? Was one of your passwords on the most common list?

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

At No-IP, we believe strongly in the right to an open and free Internet.

The internet itself has gone through massive growth since it was born. We rely on it more than ever. We get our news, family and friend updates and knowledge from the Internet. It’s how we entertain ourselves with funny cat memes and videos about a guy on a buffalo. Many of us rely on it as a source of income. It is our lifeline and we feel strongly that the Internet should stay as it is.

Would the Internet be anything close to what it is today if that innovation was inhibited by “fast lanes” that only certain companies with enough funds could buy into? What would happen to your freedom of choice as an Internet user? How would you feel if certain websites loaded much slower because the person wasn’t able to pay for the “fast lane” experience? Where would this leave the innovators of the industry? Think about all of the start-up companies, would they be able to make it in a world without net neutrality?

Please take a few moments to think about the future of the Internet if this bill is passed. Without net neutrality, the future of the internet is at serious risk. Innovation won’t happen.

So, what does the proposed end of Net Neutrality mean?
Internet Service Providers are arguing that in order for them to grow and expand access to the Internet, they should be able to charge more to certain content providers. Particularly ones that are a heavy burden on their networks, i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc. This means that there would be a fast lane, slow lane and maybe even a no lane. If a site wants their content to get to users, it would have to be in the fast lane, meaning they would have to pay extra for it to get into the fast lane, or risk it being filtered out in the slow lane, or even the no lane.

This type of censorship by ISPs wouldn’t help them expand access to the Internet, it would greatly reduce it. In reality, the ISP’s will just gain the power to favor certain content and limit other content. This means that even though they will be building bigger and better infrastructure for the Internet, only some sites will benefit from it. The Internet that treats data equally is what we need always and forever.

Congress needs to use their power to ensure that the Internet remains a place where free speech and commerce thrive and are welcome. The internet community needs to ensure that the people shaping laws for the future of the Internet are educated as to how detrimental these laws could be to the Internet as we all know and love.

At No-IP, we have always been a strong advocate for an open and free Internet. We feel that putting an end to Net Neutrality would hurt consumers and Internet innovation.

We are against the End of Net Neutrality. Do you agree with us? Do something about it. We urge all of our US-based users to call, write, or tweet at your local Representatives to let them know you oppose the FCC’s proposed changes to the net neutrality landscape.

Want to help us while helping others? Configuring a device or forwarding ports on a router can be tricky. We try to help when we can, but there are many different devices with many different versions of firmware which can make it difficult. This is where you come into play. Please help us build a comprehensive public port forwarding and device configuration tutorial library.

How?
Create a video tutorial of you configuring your device. It can be any device that you use with No-IP’s Dynamic DNS. Setting up a camera for remote access? Create a tutorial on the setup. Setting up a device for remote access? Create a tutorial! Port forwarding a router? Create a tutorial!

If your video is high quality, easy to understand and follows all of the following guidelines, we will give you a $20 No-IP Credit. The best videos will be entered into a contest to win a $100 No-IP credit and swag package (including 2 t-shirts and stickers).

The best videos will be embedded on our website and/or our Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus pages.

To receive the $20 No-IP credit, please follow these guidelines:
1. Make a detailed video tutorial of you port forwarding your router with on-screen or spoken instructions
2. Post it publicly on YouTube
3. Send us the link via support ticket (from your account at www.noip.com). Please include full router or device brand and model with your submission.

Mandatory Guidelines:
-Your video title must be: “Port Forwarding / How to port forward a [ROUTER Brand and Model]” or “Remote Access / How to access your [Camera Brand and Model] Remotely”
-Your video must contain a link to http://www.noip.com/ in the first line of the description and in the video’s tags.
-We reserve the right to disqualify any submission (offensive, unclear, misleading etc.).’
- DO NOT SUBMIT a video for anything ILLEGAL or unethical. It will be immediately disqualified.

Quality Expectations / Best Practices:
-Use screen recording software to record the video. Our favorite is Camtasia.
-Keep the video under 10 minutes.
-Do not use licensed music (even if provided by YouTube), if music must be used, pick neutral (elevator) music
-You must speak in the video and explain each step.

Want extra kudos? We have tons of international users so bi-lingual closed captions are a plus!

So, what are you waiting for? Start creating your tutorials today. You could even win $100 (No-IP Credits) and a Swag Package!

Questions or comments? Leave them in the comments. As always, share this on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus!

*Management reserves all rights. Credits will be added to your No-IP account once the video has been approved. If your video fails to meet the guidelines or the quality is not up to the No-IP standards, your video will be disqualified.*