1<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN"> 2<HTML> 3<HEAD> 4<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft® HTML Help Workshop 4.1"> 5<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="Leash.css" /> 6<Title>Password Tips</Title> 7 8</HEAD> 9<BODY> 10<H1>Password Tips and Examples</H1> 11<p> 12As computing power has gotten faster and cheaper, password cracking generators have gotten better as well. A password cracking program can rapidly try all English words, all combinations of seven or fewer characters, and common passwords such as <tt>12345678</tt> and <tt>password123</tt>. In addition, anyone with access to your personal information can try names and dates from that information. </p> 13 14<H3>Good Password Requirements</H3> 15<p> 16A strong password: </p> 17<ul> 18<li>Is at least 8 characters long (preferably longer)</li> 19<li>Doesn't include your name or other easily obtained personal information</li> 20<li>Uses a mix of lower case letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols </li> 21<li>Is only used for one program </li> 22</ul> 23<H3>Password Advice and Examples</H3> 24<p> 25To create a strong password that is still easy to remember, try starting with a phrase or sentence. Then play around with symbols, shorthands, and misspellings to make it more secure. Remember that you can have spaces in your password. Some examples:</p> 26<ul> 27<li> "Beans and rice are my favorite foods" can become <tt>Beans&ricearemyFavoriteFoods!</tt>, <tt>Rbeans&ricemyfavoritefoods?</tt> or <tt>BeansNRiceRFavz!</tt></li> 28<li>"I can't wait 2 go to Spain" can become <tt>Ican'twait2go2Spain!</tt></li> 29<li>"Meet me at the store" can become <tt>mEEtme@zeStore</tt></li> 30<li>"Cat or dog?" can become <tt>?KatsRd0gs</tt> or you can leave it as is. </li> 31</ul> 32<H3>What Makes a Bad Password</H3> 33<p> 34Do <b>not</b> base your password on any of the following. They are far too easy to guess (even if you spell them backwards).</p> 35<ul> 36<li>Any names, including yours or that of your parents, children, pets, friends, characters from popular media, etc.</li> 37<li> Your phone number, address, birthday, etc.</li> 38<li>Your social security, drivers license, or license plate numbers. </li> 39<li> One or two words found in a dictionary.</li> 40<li> The phrases "Let me in," "open up," or something similar.</li> 41<li> Simple patterns like "lolololololo" or "12345678." </li> 42<li> Any password used as an example in a manual or in help (including the examples given here).</li> 43<li> A password that you use elsewhere, especially an insecure program or website.</li> 44</ul> 45<H3>Related Help</H3> 46<ul id="helpul"> 47<li><a href="HTML/Change_Password.htm">Change Password</a></li> 48<li><a href="HTML/Forget_Password.htm">If you forget your password</a></li> 49</ul> 50</BODY> 51</HTML> 52