With email, countless social media accounts, online banking, e-commerce and logins for nearly every website these days, we need to make a lot of passwords.

For many of us, it's simply too many passwords to remember, so we use one password, or a variation on that password, for every account. But be careful, doing so can put you at risk for hacking, identity theft and even nosy significant others.

Creating strong passwords, however, will protect you and your computer. Rather than having to explain spam emails to everyone on your contact list, or even worry about virus removal, taking a few extra steps to make your passwords stronger will make your personal online accounts that much safer.

1. Don't use the same password for every account. Regardless of whether or not it's easier to remember, having the same password can turn one hacked account into a hacking of your entire life. If it's impossible to keep that many passwords in your head, store them in one password management application – locked with a password, of course – on your computer. Don't write them down.

2. Don't use anything in a sequence. You'd be surprised at the amount of people whose password is 123456. Don't be one of those people. Also, don't use letters in the sequence they appear on the keyboard, either. You're no better than the number people.

3. Be creative. As helpful as it is for you to use your birthday, your boyfriend's initials or your pet goldfish's name for passwords, they will always be easy to crack. When it comes to passwords, the more random and meaningless, the better.

If you think your computer has been hacked, or that your data may be compromised by malware, run an antivirus scan to determine the problem. If it seems like something you can't handle on your own,contact your local Virginia virus removal service.