Creating Safe Passwords

Passwords are the first line of defense against unauthorized access to a computer (or phone, iPad, etc) and/or personal information. The stronger the password, the more protection there is against hackers, malicious software, or unauthorized credit card use. Ensure that there is a strong password for all online accounts.

A strong password

  • Contains at least 8 characters
  • Does not contain your user name, real name, or business name.
  • Does not contain a complete word.
  • Is significantly different from previous passwords.
  • Contains characters from each of the following four categories: UpperCase Letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and Symbols (#$%^&).

Creating a password that incorporates these elements significantly increases the odds of protection against hackers or malicious software.

Ensuring there is a different password for each online account isn’t always easy, but it is critical to online security. Don’t use the same password that you utilize for an online subscription as you do for your email account or bank account.
Google suggests the following… One idea is to think of a phrase that only you know and make it be related to a particular website to help you remember it. For your email, you could start with ‘My friends Tom and Jasmine send me a funny email once a day’ and then use numbers and letters to recreate it. ‘MfT&Jsmafe1ad’ is a password with lots of variations. Then repeat this process for other sites.