Your personal information is not safe.  Right now, as you read this, a website you may have visited is being attacked.  This goes on all day, every day by so called "hackers".  Who can blame them, the security infrastructure currently being used by many online companies is all but nonexistent, with most of the popular encryption technology over 10 years old.  What are we to do?  Currently, prolific internet security exploit entrepreneurs, or hackers, are using every bit of technology they have to gain access to websites we think are secure, and they are doing it pretty easily.  Even government websites such as whitehouse.gov and CIA.gov have been hacked by these groups, with the stolen information being publicly shared via torrents and the hacking groups websites.  Passwords, CC info, usernames, phone numbers, home addresses, and anything else you may have shared online. 

While you may not be able to prevent these groups from hacking your favorite website, you can limit the damage done.  Here are a few suggestions:

• NEVER use the same password over multiple websites.
• Create hard passwords.  This is not a hard password: guard33.  This is a hard password: HuxD6745!1x  Yes, it is a bit longer and harder to memorize, but which would you rather do; remember a password, or worry about your information being posted over the net?
• Never share your password with anyone.
• Security questions, like those used to recover passwords, should be difficult and only be known by you.  Using, "What country do you live in?" is not smart. 
• Never share important dates, or any dates for that matter, online.  This includes social networking sites.  If the people are important, they would know those dates anyway.  Keep it private!
• Do not download stuff from people you do not know.  You did not win a free Apple iPod, you do not have $1,000,000,000 from a rich uncle in Africa, and you do not have a prize waiting for you.  If these were legit, you would get a phone call and a letter to your house address.  Also, please remember that Facebook, MySpace, etc... will never send you an e-mail asking you to verify your information, or to download these, "New terms of use agreements".
• Most importantly, if you don't want people to know about it, do not post it online, including e-mails.  It's really not that hard and you will save yourself the hassle.

Until we reach critical mass and the internet explodes from all of the exploits being used, companies will not listen and will continue to use weak security measures to protect your information.  As you have seen, Sony, Fox.com, CIA.gov, and several other popular websites were using those weak security methods and ended up paying the price.

If you have any questions, please let us know, we will help you the best we can.