Online Security - Passwords
Guidelines for creating strong passwords
DOs:
• Use at least five characters.
• Use combinations of letters (upper case and lower case), numbers, and symbols.
DON’Ts:
• Don’t use any private identity information (name, address, email, phone number, social insurance number,etc)
• Don’t use a password that is easy to guess, like your pet’s name, your nickname, name of your street, etc.
Safety guidelines:
• Don't share your password with anyone other than your parents or a trusted adult (or even better, NOBODY)
• Use a different password for every account you have online. (You can use a Password Manager to keep track)
• Try to change your password regularly -- recommended every six months.
Read: Choosing and Protecting Passwords
Read: Strong Password Creation Tricks
Try: Strong Password Generator
Ideas to Create Memorable but Strong Passwords
1. Think and create a fun sentence you can remember. You can pick your favorite song title, book
title, movie title, sports team, etc. (Example: Monica Greem loves to ski and hike at Lake Tahoe).
2. Choose first letters or first two letters.
3. Change some letters to symbols.
4. Make some letters upper case and some lower case.(Example: MGl2s&h@LT)
security number, mother’s maiden name, birthdates, etc.).
school, baseball team, etc.
ACTIVITY 1
Monica Green lives in San Francisco with her family (father Frank, mother Margaret, brother John, sister
Jessica and a dog Rover) at 914 Noe St. Her birthday is March 4, 1996. She is a Giants fan and loves
hiking, skiing and reading books. She just finished reading Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets
and really loved it! She just opened a new email account and is considering which password to use.
Please help her understand which of her passwords are strong and which are weak by completing:
REMEMBER
• Strong passwords are based on a descriptive sentence that is easy to remember and difficult to decipher.
• Moderate passwords are passwords that are strong and not easy to guess by bad software but may be guessed by someone who knows you.
• Weak passwords commonly use personal information, are easy to crack and can be guessed by someone who knows you.
Read: Common Passwords Mistakes (click below)
Password Hacking