Don't choose a dictionary word as your password.
Include a variety of characters, such as punctuation marks, numbers, and mix capital and lowercase letters.
Never tell anyone your password.
Never write down your password. Even if you don't think that somebody would know that it was your Gmail password if they saw it, think of a way to remember it so that you don't have to write it down.
Periodically change your password.
How to Change GMail Password
Go to Gmail.com and sign in with your EMail address and Password
Click the gear icon at the top of any Gmail page or Emailname and select Account Settings , then Mail settings, and open the Accounts and Import tab.
In the 'Change account settings' section, click Change password.
In the new window, enter your current password and your new password.
Make sure you create a unique password to help keep someone from breaking in to your account.
Changing your recovery email address
You don't have to provide a recovery email address, but we strongly encourage you to. Once you've started using Gmail, we'll use your recovery email address to communicate with you under the following circumstances:
We need to confirm your username after you create an address
You can't log in to Gmail
You've forgotten your password
You're about to run out of storage space
We need to alert you to any unusual activity involving your address
How to change your recovery email address
Sign in to Gmail. Click the gear icon or Tools at the top right of any Gmail page, then Mail settings, and open the Accounts and Import tab.
Click Change password recovery options in the 'Change account settings' section.
Select Recovering your password under Personal Settings. You may be prompted to re-enter your password to help verify your password and protect your account.
Click Add an email address if you don't have a recovery email address set already, or click the Edit link next to your current recovery email address to change it.
Click Save to make your changes.
Close the Google Account window using your browser's Close button if you don't want to sign out of Gmail just yet.
We may sometimes ask you to verify that your recovery email address is still correct. We'll show you what we have on record and ask you to visit your Google Account settings to make any changes.
Never send confidential or personal information, including your password, via email.
Use Strong Passwords!
The number one technique you can possibly implement. Hackers are experts at programming computers to plough through huge amounts of data very quickly. That’s the reason longer passwords are more secure; the number of possible combinations grows exponentially with every extra character added.
Hackers employ a technique called “dictionary attack” where they repeatedly try username and password combinations by running through hundreds of common words, phrases, numbers and combination them till they get lucky. It’s important you use random strings like “j@m13s(!)” instead of perhaps “jamie123″
Video Tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcTPWfydrn4
