5 Easy Steps To Create Strong Passwords
First, some Hints and Tips:
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Keep your passwords private – never share a password with anyone else.
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Do not write down your passwords.
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Use passwords of at least eight (8) characters or more (longer is better).
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Use a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (for example: !, @, &, %, +) in all passwords.
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Avoid using people’s or pet’s names, or words found in the dictionary; it’s also best to avoid using key dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.).
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Substituting look-alike characters for letters or numbers is no longer sufficient (for example, “Password” and “P@ssw0rd”).
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A strong password should look like a series of random characters.
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On the web, if you think your password may have been compromised, change it at once and then check your other website accounts for misuse. At work, change your password at once, and then call your company’s IT Security help desk.
How to create a strong, complex password
Here’s a way to make a strong password that’s very hard to crack. Follow these steps:
Example
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Think of a phrase or sentence with at least eight words. It should be something easy for you to remember but hard for someone who knows you to guess. It could be a line from a favorite poem, story, movie, song lyric, or quotation you like. Example: "I Want To Put A Dent In The Universe"
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Remove all but the first letter of each word in your phrase: IWTPADITU
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Replace several of the upper-case letters with lower case ones, at random: iWtpADitU
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Now substitute a number for at least one of the letters. (Here, we’ve changed the capital “I” to the numeral 1): iWtpAD1tU
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Finally, use special characters ( $, &, +, !, @) to replace a letter or two -- preferably a letter that is repeated in the phrase. You can also add an extra character to the mix. (Here, we’ve replaced the “t” with “+”, and added an exclamation point at the end.) : iW+pAD1tU!