Choosing and Remembering Passwords

When you choose a password you must make it as difficult as possible to someone to figure out what it would be. There are some general rules that can be followed when choosing a password. The following list of do's and don'ts may help you when selecting passwords.

• Don't use your login name as your password even if it is given in a different form.
• Don't use your name or an abbreviated form of your name. In addition don't use the names of your children or other family.
• Don't use information that can easily be related to you. This includes license plate numbers, telephone numbers, addresses,
• Don't use a password of all digits, or all the same letter
• Don't use real words or common letter combinations.

Helpful Hints to Creating Passwords

• Create a password that uses a mixture of capital and lower case letters. It is also a good idea to mix letters and numbers.
• Create a password that is easy to remember so you don't have to write it down on paper.
• Create a password that you can type quickly. This makes it harder for someone to steal your password if they are watching you.

Hints for Remembering Passwords

Choose a sentence, name of a song, or something that is easy for you to remember and then make your password using the first letters of each word. For example: Please get bread at the store - "pgbats"

Make up nonsense words that can be pronounced. This is the same idea as remembering postal codes. It is easier to remember words that can be pronounced than a string of letters and numbers that are not connected. An example might be "goodee" or "goo2dee"

Think of a series of things that have only meaning for you. For example: Use the first letters of all the members of your family to make a password. In this instance you might list them from oldest to youngest so that you can remember the order of the letters. Of course you can always add in a number to make your password a little more difficult to figure out.

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Page Last Updated: April 12, 2006 11:02 AM

Skills for the 21st Century