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Security Guide

PaSSWordS and PaSSWord etIQuette

Many forms of computer security use passwords AM in Rome, New York.” That phrase yields the password
to control access to systems and data. Most likely, you have a Iwba3:00AMiR,NY which is a strong password that is easily
university account that you access with a username and pass- remembered.
word. When you set up that account, you were probably advised Once you have a strong password you want to avoid
to use a “strong password.” That’s good advice, but what is a reusing the same password at every site you visit. Not all sites
strong password? Probably not “sesame,” but what then? provide the same level of protection for your data. In fact,
Microsoft, a company that has many reasons to promote sometimes they lose your password to hackers. Then hackers
effective security, provides the following guidelines for creating can use those passwords to access other sites that you regu-
a strong password. A strong password should: larly use. Password variety is your friend. Never use the same
password for less important sites (e.g., social networking) that
• Have at least 10 characters; 12 is even better
• Not contain your username, real name, or company name you’d use to access more important sites (e.g., online banking).
• Not contain a complete dictionary word in any language You also need to protect your password with proper
• Be different from previous passwords you have used behavior. Never write down your password, do not share
• Contain both upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and it with others, and never ask others for their passwords.
special characters (such as ~ ! @; # $ % ^ &; * ()
_+; =; { } | [] \: “; ‘ <; >;?,./)
Examples of good passwords are:

• Qw37^T1bb?at
• 3B47qq<3>5!7b

The problem with such passwords is that they are
nearly impossible to remember. And the last thing
you want to do is write your password on a piece of
paper and keep it near the device where you use it.
Never do that!
One technique for creating memorable, strong
passwords is to base them on the first letter of the
words in a phrase. The phrase could be the title of a
song or the first line of a poem or one based on some
fact about your life. For example, you might take
the phrase “I was born in Rome, New York, before
2000.” Using the first letters from that phrase and
substituting the character < for the word before,
you create the password IwbiR,NY<2000. That’s
an acceptable password, but it would be better
if all of the numbers were not placed on the end.
So, you might try the phrase, “I was born at 3:00
Source: iQoncept/Fotolia

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