Passwords are common secrets. Majority have it. You keep it to yourself, or share to a person you trust your life with.

From social networking sites to bank accounts, passwords have been a favorite target of hackers and thieves. People are always warned to be clever and careful of their passwords, just as how they are when an essay writer writes something. It should not be something obvious, or easy to figure, like birthdays and anniversaries.

Graham Cluely, Senior Technology Consultant at Sophos, a software security company, shares that hackers use the dictionary approach in decoding passwords. So dictionary words do not make good passwords.

The best passwords, according to Cluely, are sentences. These are not sentences you form when writing an essay. That will have to consume too many characters. It works more like acronyms. For example, 'LW2TG2BE' which means, Linda went to the grocery to buy eggs. Cluely suggests using a different password for every account. He also recommends regular updating of anti-virus software. Spyware, a virus software, looks out on keys you type in.

Cluely's advice is worth noting. After all, passwords are as valuable as the data you are securing. As the old passage says, it is no use crying over spilled milk. Protect your account, and save yourself from tears.