As a general rule, people who don't take security very seriously will tend to use the same password for many services. And they'll make sure that password is easy to remember by choosing a birth date, anniversary, or loved one's name to protect their computer files, bank records, and everything else you can use to steal their identity. At least that's how it works in the movies.

If you want to avoid being yet another bad movie statistic, you might want to check out Microsoft's Password Checker web site before choosing your next password. As you type characters into the box, Microsoft will let you know just what a bad idea your chosen combination of characters is.

The secret isn't just to choose a long stream of characters. You also want to mix up numbers, letters, and other characters. In fact, we found that you could in 52 numbers and still get a weak score. Microsoft recommends using at least 8 characters, and preferably 14 or more, with a good mix of letters, numbers and symbols.

[via Web Worker Daily]