Me And (In) My Speedo

Dale Denham

Although I don’t approve of jean shorts, I am a sucker for a Speedo. Yes, I sport my Speedo every chance I can. My Speedo is more than clothing to me, it is protection. Yes, my Speedo is a swim shirt and protects my pale skin from skin damage (and protects everyone else from seeing a 40+ year old father of 4 who could spend a little more time doing P90x!).

Enjoying the Jamaican Sunset In My Speedo.
Hopefully you use sun protection as well but it doesn’t have to be a Speedo or any sort of swim shirt, it might be sunscreen or just avoiding the sun such as anyone who lives in Seattle does. Here are few tips to keep you protected from things where the sun doesn’t shine.
  1. Stop paying for anti-virus software
    • You need anti-virus but Microsoft has a great free solution for personal computers called Microsoft Security Essentials. It works great and doesn’t slow your computer down. Get it now and save yourself $40 or more per year (feel free to send me $10 each year so I can buy a new Speedo).
  2. Stop using the same password everywhere
    • Create 3 complex passwords that you can remember. Try your parents’ or best friend’s address (i.e., 123HickoryDr) but avoid your address, birthdays, kids names, etc. And don’t think using @ for “A” is a good idea, the hackers have built that and other common tricks like ! for “1” into their schemes.
    • Use the simplest of the 3 for all your logins that don’t keep any sensitive information (things like newsletters, etc.).
    • Use the second most complicated for things that have your personal or credit card information on file and your email logins.
    • Use the most complicated for your banking passwords. Even if you have five banking logins, as long as you use a very complicated one you are probably OK. Sure, it is best to have 5 different ones, but 90% of people use the same bank password as other logins.

Another even better option is to use a secure password manager which allows you to have a master password that is (hopefully) very complex and then can generate and remember your passwords for every site. Leave a comment on this blog and I’ll let you know which the best to use is and how to use it safely.

Dale Denham, MAS+, is a 20-year industry veteran and chief information officer at Geiger. Read Dale’s thoughts on technology, business and the promotional products world ever other Wednesday. Follow Dale on Twitter @GeigerCIO.

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