"Mix letters, numbers, and special characters. Try to be unpredictable - don't use your name, birthdate, or common words." (In other words, pick something that you're going to forget three seconds after you enter it.)

"Don't use the same password for many accounts. If it's stolen from you - or from one of the companies with which you do business - it can be used to take over all your accounts." (But it's so much more convenient!)

Keep your passwords in a secure place, out of plain sight. (Where they are sure to be lost... .)

There are some advances in technology that are allowing people to bypass passwords altogether. The iPhone I recently bought has a Touch ID feature that reads my fingerprint and unlocks the device. Best of all, I can use it to approve purchases from the iTunes Store (one less password to remember!).

With the advent of Google Glass, I imagine that a retinal scan feature used in a way similar to Apple's Touch ID can't be far off. I'd gladly submit to more finger, eye and even toe scans if it means that I can cut a few more passwords out of my life.

I believe in the power of reducing clutter, in your garage or the back of your mind. Recently, I joking asked my friends on Facebook whether it is "possible to die of password fatigue.

"I don't think it is in the medical books yet, but it can't be long before it makes it," one of my friends responded. "I would have replied sooner, but I couldn't remember my sign-in for Facebook."