Passwords

 

Passwords are one of the most improperly used items on the security checklist. Why do I say this? In many homes and some organisations no real effort is made to create hard to guess passwords, or if someone does come up with a hard to guess password they then write it down on a yellow sticky and attach it to the monitor so they can remember it!

So, what should you know about choosing strong passwords?

• You should be able to remember them easily, but others shouldn't be able to guess them
• Ideally a mix of lower case, upper case letters, numbers and symbols (within a password the lower case letter 'e' is considered different to the upper case letter 'E')
• Be at least 7 characters long
• Have no repeating letters or numbers (aaaBBB111 may fit the first three bullet points, but isn't a very strong password)

Here's an example I am fond of and which illustrates the principle nicely: 2Bor02B?

Does it look hard to guess? Does it look easy to remember? Well, it is easy to remember - it is an abbreviated version of "To be or not to be, that is the question". (The character in the middle is a zero by the way.)

Another example might be an old car registration number with mixed upper and lower case letters and a symbol or two thrown in for maximum "un-guess-ability".

The main point here is that having and using strong passwords does not have to be something only mega-brain people do - it's something we can all do, we just have to take a few moments to come up with one which is like the example - hard to guess but easy to remember. And never write it down. (Yes, this applies to you too!)

One final note on passwords - while you may not want to have a different password for every online account, ensure you have a different one for your financial accounts (bank etc) than for anything else - e.g. your Amazon account. And as an additional suggestion, keep your password for telephone banking separate from the one you use for online banking. Paranoid? Maybe, but then the fraud in this area is growing - better safe than sorry.

J