Category - Internet
Topic - Internet Safety
Issue - How to Make a Good Password*
Tiptoid -
It was that time again. I decided I needed to change my password on my computer. It had been a couple of months since the last time I changed it. Many people wonder if their password is secure enough to keep out unwanted eyes.
I was first informed about password security when I read the Fairfax County Public Schools publication Computer Security Basics that I was given in my Multimedia Productions class. There are a lot of excellent points in that brochure, and I encourage you to read it too. Here is what they say about how to make a good password - and if you follow these tips, you can feel more sure that your computer, and all the stuff you have on it, are safe.
1. Use between 7 and 14 characters, the longer the better, as long as you can remember it.
2. Include at least two non-alphabetical characters (numbers or symbols such as $ or ! or &). Do NOT use blank spaces.
3. Use upper and lower cases carefully. Most systems consider a to be different from A.
4. Create an acronym from the letters of the words in a phrase, song lyric, or quotation that is memorable to you - “To be or not to be” could be 2BRnot2B?
5. Intertwine two words or a word and a number sequence that is meaningful to you. For example, your favorite fruit and a memorable year. Kiwi and 1987 could be k1i9w8i7 or ki1987wi.
6. Deliberately misspell words. Substitute symbols, numbers, and phonetic replacements throughout. Mississippi could be Mrs.Ippi.
7. Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters.
8. DON'T use plain words in any language.
9. DON'T use personal data, such as your middle name, birth date, Social Security number, phone number, address, etc. (i.e. data which may be on record.)
10. DON'T use easily guessed words or phrases like “Redskins” or “GoCaps.”
11. DON'T depend on simple letter substitution, such as “$” or “5” for “S,” zero for “0” or the number “1” for “L.”
* information acquired from Computer Security Basics published by Fairfax County Public Schools IT 01/02
Glossary -
acronym - a word formed from the beginning letter or letters of each or most of the parts of a compound term
Find Out More - Fairfax County Public School 's Computer Security Basics brochure
Submitted by - Julia Brechbiel
Site Managers - Nana Yeboah, Kelsey Tedder
March 2006