Fixing Passwords, What You Can Do Now

In the meantime, as we all wait for better authentication mechanisms to become standardized, there are plenty of things you can do to boost your security, but you have to make an effort.

"Nearly every device already has strong authentication features. It's just up to their users to use them," says Taher Elgamal, chief security advisor for business software provider and one of the inventors of SSL. "Laptops have had hardware cryptography for years, but nobody uses it. New mobile phones have some innovative authentication features, but there is currently no standard interface between Web servers and the authentication features."

There are also easy steps that service providers and employers can take. As any security professional will tell you, your house doesn't have to be 100 percent impenetrable. That's an unrealistic goal. But if it's more secure than your neighbors' houses, you'll have a much lower risk of a break-in.

5 Things Consumers Should Do to Strengthen Passwords