Best practices for passwords

  • DO NOT choose a password that is too simple (e.g. "password" or "123456")

  • DO choose a password that you can remember but that people who know a little about you wouldn't be able to guess

  • DO choose a password that:

      • is at least 8 characters long

      • uses a mixture of:

          • letters (uppercase and lowercase)

          • numbers

          • special characters ( ! @ # & * etc.)

  • DO consider "hashing" your password (i.e. replace the letter "a" with "@" or the letter "s" with "$")

  • DO NOT use the same password for all your online accounts. Consider using a small group of different passwords. If someone were to crack a single password that you use for all accounts, then they would be able to access your entire online presence.

  • DO change your password(s), at a minimum, once a year. Even better, change your password(s) every 3–6 months.

  • DO consider using a password manager (like LastPass or KeePass, for example) to securely remember your passwords or generate random passwords.