Passwords are only as good as the way they're secured

Parents and students at Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville, N.C. received quite a scare when a student from Louisiana posted death threats on Edmodo, the school sponsored social network. The failing was not in the security of Edmodo, but in the security of the passwords used to administer the social platform.

Apparently at least one password was accessible on the school web site. One of the big discussions in security today is how to replace passwords, which suffer from the likelihood of being either too easy to guess or discover using sophisticated software and hardware, or too hard to remember for most people. But it really doesn't matter how hard to guess or easy to remember the password is if you leave it out for anyone to find.

There are any number of ways to secure passwords. Some are good - software like Lastpass, and some are better than nothing - like a password protected Exel spreadsheet. There are excellent free and commercial solutions, so figuring out which one is best for you might take a little research. Googling "best password manager" brings up reviews by several reputable sites and publications. Don't let your passwords be exposed to strangers, find a password manager that works for you.

Time to start anew. Get your dog a sombrero.