PASSWORDS

This page deals with preventing a password and how to create standard passwords.

Key points for password security

	New passwords must be different than the previous password.
	Passwords never should be stored on your computer or written down and stored in plain sight. If a password must be written down, it should be locked up and stored in a place that is difficult for others to access.
	Passwords may be used only by the authorized user. Do not share your password with anyone.
	If you suspect your password has been compromised, it should be changed immediately.

Why change every 30 days

Passwords can be guessed or deciphered by hackers on the internet. By changing your password, you help to ensure that your account will remain safe and your email and files will remain private.
For security reasons, we require that you change the password for your campus account every 30 days. If someone should discover your password they can access your private computer account. This is bad enough, but even worse is the fact that you and you alone are responsible for any activity that originates from your Computing ID/account. Therefore, never write down your password on paper, and never tell anyone else your password.
Students, as well as everyone who has a computer at home, should also change their passwords every so often (30 to 90 days) for the same reasons.

Security issues - A different password scheme should be chosen every time you change them to avoid someone who may know a previous one from guessing your new one.

Reusing passwords - Reusing passwords can be quite dangerous. This is because of the fact that if someone gets a password for one of your accounts then they will have the password for multiple accounts of yours. Due to this, the first practice is enforced on campus for all faculty and staff members. Everyone should, however, follow both practices below with every account they have. Passwords cannot be reused more than once per 8 months. You should have different passwords for different accounts.

Good passwords, Bad passwords

	Good passwords - Combinations of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and special characters. the longer the better.
	Average strength passwords - Combinations of letters (upper and/or lower case), and numbers.
	Bad passwords - Dictionary words, words or phrases that contain any personal information, dates, alphabet or numeric sequences (like abcdefgh or 12345678) or any of the above mentioned items in reverse.
	Check your password strength - You can check your password strength by clicking here.

Points to avoid while creating a password

	Do not use your user name, first name, or last name.
	Passwords that use patterns on the keyboard (i.e., QWERTY) are not secure.
	Words spelled backwards don't make secure passwords.
	Substituting 1's and 0's for l's and o's is not enough to make a good password.
	Do not simply use a word followed or preceded by a number as a password.
	Do not use dictionary, or dictionary-based words as passwords.
	Never use a password that has been cited as an example of how to pick a good password

Tips for remembering a password

	Mnemonics - Remembering a randomized, assigned difficult password, like "tthertd" can be simple and fun by using a mnemonic. Think of a sentence where there is one word beginning with each letter of the password, for example, "tthertd" could be "terrible tigers have every right to drive."
	Develop an Algorithm - Take the name of the website and then add the last four digits of a friend's home phone number to the end. The password for wikiHow might be "wikihow4588". Maybe you would spell wikihow backwards. The more steps in your algorithm, and the more unpredictable each step is, the more secure your password.
	Combine the best of you - Choose a favorite number (or two), a favorite word (or two), a favorite symbol (or two), and the first one or two symbols that come to mind when you see the website address or the most prominent words on the sign-in page. Choose an order and put them all together into one long string
	Remove the vowels - Take a word or phrase and remove the vowels from it. (e.g. "eat the cheeseburger" becomes "tthchsbrgr").
	Combine small words - A smart way to develop a secure, easy to remember password is to combine three small words to a password. E.g. you can use "howstopyes" or "earpengold". If you want an even easier to remember password you can use words that are related to each other like "yesnomaybe". This is less secure! Additional tip: make the first letters of the different words capital: "ballzonecart" becomes "BallZoneCart".
	Connect the first letters - Develop a password using the first letters of a sentence or phrase that means something to you - like your national anthem or a slogan you have seen some where. 'Don't shop for it, Argos it' would become DsfiAi.
	Mix words - Choose two words and combine their letters to create the password, choosing one letter of the first word and one letter of the second word, and repeating this until you get to the last letter of each word. An example could be: Words: house & plane Password: hpoluasnee
	Use year & month & letters of your choice - Use the current year and first three letters of the current month and then three letters from, say, your name. In this case, your password would read 2006aprJoe. Next month, change it to 2006mayJoe. It's impossible to have the same password twice or to forget it.
	Turn letters into numbers - Think of a phrase, or name that your password will be. Type that name using numbers (located on the telephone # pad)