The topic of creating great passwords has been visited manytimes by many people, yet it remains relevant and important because common
passwords are still too common. As educators often feel the pain of knowledge
falling on deaf ears, we beat this horse once again in hopes that one or two
new pupils may take heed.
Make better passwords!
When creating your list of passwords one tip is to ensure
your password does not rank as one of the world’s most popular passwords such as “Jesus,” “Ninja” and “Qwerty.”
your password does not rank as one of the world’s most popular passwords such as “Jesus,” “Ninja” and “Qwerty.”
You can also visit our previous blog that covers the basics
on making passwords more effective. Let’s say that your email password is
“whiskers”, the name of your no doubt lovable cat. You can easily keep
the familiarity of the password while increasing its effectiveness as a
password.
on making passwords more effective. Let’s say that your email password is
“whiskers”, the name of your no doubt lovable cat. You can easily keep
the familiarity of the password while increasing its effectiveness as a
password.
Old password: whiskersNew password: I have loved Whiskers since
2004!
Easy to remember, and vastly more secure than
the original password. If you can’t use spaces, simply remove them.
Whenever possible, use words and terms which
can’t be found in a dictionary. This sounds harder than it is. You
can use altered spelling, nicknames, and clues instead of the actual term.
can’t be found in a dictionary. This sounds harder than it is. You
can use altered spelling, nicknames, and clues instead of the actual term.
Old password: I love icecream
New password: !love1c3cr3am
You can also visit trusted
opinion leaders such as the Canadian site Get Cyber Safe that
highlights:
opinion leaders such as the Canadian site Get Cyber Safe that
highlights:
- · Don’t stay logged into a site but login each
time you visit the site - · Clear browsing history or cache after online
banking and shopping - · Avoid using a single dictionary word
Or the American site Stop.Think.Connect. that includes:
- · Keep a separate password for each account
- · Make passwords long and strong including
capital, lowercase, numbers and symbols - · Limit how and who has access to what you post by
using privacy settings on websites and set to your level of comfort
Our next blog will cover a list of resources.
