No - Don't Use:

• First, middle, last names or initials
• Social security numbers or birthdays
• Names of friends, family, or pets
• Place names, addresses or phone numbers
• Whole words from any dictionary
• Sequence/repetition of numbers/letters
  (11,22,33 - asdf or fdsa - 3,2,1)
• Names: username, login, computer name
• Any other personal information that could be guessed
• Duplicate the same and password for multiple accounts

Yes - Do Use:

• Special characters or punctuation as @#$%&! ?._+=
• Mix random upper AND lower case letters throughout the password
• Mix random numbers with letters
• Make up nonsense words that are easy to pronounce and not in the dictionary
• Eight or more mixed characters
• Change passwords frequently at least every other month.
• Different login accounts should have completely different passwords.
• Create a "Super Password" of 12 characters for optimum security.

Also to note: Security Questions

• It is best to write your own question
• Choose unlikely and non-obvious answers.
• Example: "What is your mother's maiden name?" Answer: Tropical Forest