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How to Create a Good eBay User Password

4 of 11 in Series: The Essentials of Joining the eBay Community

Choosing a good password on eBay is not as easy (but is twice as important) as it may seem. Whoever has your password can, in effect, be you at eBay — running auctions, bidding on auctions, and leaving possibly litigious feedback for others. Basically, such an impostor can ruin your eBay career — and possibly cause you serious financial grief.

Many passwords can be cracked by the right person in a matter of seconds. Your goal is to set a password that takes too much of the hacker's time. With the number of available users on eBay and PayPal, odds are they’ll go to the next potential victim’s password rather than spend a lot of time trying to crack yours.

As with any online password, you should follow these commonsense rules to protect your privacy:

  • Don’t choose anything too obvious, such as your birthday, your first name, or (never use this) your Social Security number. (Hint: If it’s too easy to remember, it’s probably too easy to crack.)

  • Do make things tough on the bad guys — combine numbers and letters (both uppercase and lowercase) or create nonsensical words.

  • Don’t give out your password to anyone — it’s like giving away the keys to the front door of your house.

  • Do change your password immediately if you ever suspect someone has it. You can change your password, by going to the Account Information area of your My eBay page or to the sign in page.

  • Do change your password every few months just to be on the safe side.

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