Why passwords are important

A good password is relatively easy to remember but hard for somebody else to guess. There are a variety of techniques you can use to choose secure passwords. Listed below are some examples of creating passwords. Passwords are used to access any number of College systems, including the network, e-mail, the Web, and voicemail.

Poor, weak passwords are easily cracked, and put the entire system at risk. Therefore, strong passwords are required. Try to create a password that is also easy to remember. Use a three character pronounceable word suffixed or prefixed with a one- or two-digit suffix or prefix. Make up nonsense words that mean something to you by combining the first syllables of two words. Be creative!

Try to choose a pattern that has meaning for you but that no one else can guess. For example, you might use upcoming events in your life. If you or one of your children has a major essay to write next month, you might create a password reflecting that event. Or if your 4th cousin, twice removed, is coming for a visit you might create a password such as the following one. Another pattern could be to choose meaningful words with a minimum of 10 letters and always use only the first 6 letters.

Then add a special character as one of the characters Note: Some systems have restrictions as to which special characters can be used as part of a password. The best password is one that is a random combination of numeric and alphabetic characters and special characters.

On systems which allow upper case and lower case letters, use a combination of upper and lower case characters for your password. Information Security Program Information Technology. Information Technology Security Password Guidelines Purpose Passwords are a critical part of information and network security.

General What is a password? But generally: Passwords should be changed every 90 days. Log in into myCourses and click Register on the right side of the page, under Self-Registration courses.

Enter your keywords. Main navigation Home Get help Resources for Amanda Morris 27 Aug Cybersecurity. Picture this: Hackers obtain your password from Facebook. They log into your account and now have access to everything you share. If you have listed your workplace, as many of us do, guess where the hacker is going to attack next? Information security. And more of us are working remotely online , meaning the likelihood of us being more connected, means a bigger target for online security threats.

These devices connect with each other, access the internet, and store information online, including financial transactions, passwords and additional personal information. Users use passwords to authorise a particular use of a device or website.

One device or site may have several users, each with its unique password. Thus, a password that is tricky to figure makes it prohibitively hard for hackers to break into a machine and will hopefully force them to look for another target.

To reduce the risk of a hacker guessing your password, take into account these features when creating your new password:. Typically, PINs and passcodes have between four and six digits or characters — needless to say, the more, the better.