Your email, your computer login, your bank accounts: almost
all modern digital security rests on passwords. The weakest
link in any security scheme, passwords are often prone to
attacks where hackers attempt to guess or crack your password.
What can you do to keep your password secure?
1) Don't make it obvious: Overused passwords such as
'password', '1234', and 'qwerty' are among the very first
passwords tried when hackers try to guess a password. Make it
something unique and not guessable, even by someone who knows
you.
2) Don't use names: Your dog's name, your children's names,
your wife's name, your name: These common passwords may
withstand a few guesses by a total stranger, but by anyone who
knows anything about you, these passwords offer no security.
3) Don't use dictionary words: A common password guessing
attack is called a dictionary attack. In a dictionary attack,
hackers use special software to quickly guess every word in
the English language. While no one in your office may know the
word 'ameliorate', it would be guessed quickly under a
dictionary attack.
4) Make it long: Your password should be at least 6- 8
characters long. This prevents attacks by hackers who try
every single possible combination of letters in the hopes of
guessing your password (called brute- forcing a password).
5) Use a variety of characters: It's recommended that your
password contain at least 2 uppercase letters, 2 lowercase
letters and some numerals or punctuation marks.
6) If you must write down your passwords, don't keep them
near your computer: A common security problem is that people
will pick a password so secure, that even they can't remember.
This leads to them writing their password down on a note taped
to their monitor, defeating the purpose of a strong password.
7) Change your passwords when you change your clocks:
Change your passwords at least twice per year: more often for
highly sensitive data. If given unlimited spans of time, any
password will eventually be guessed.
While all this may seem daunting, it's still easy to make a
password that's easy to remember. While 'sparky' (your dog's
name) isn't a very good password, '$parKY1977' is a password
that would be very difficult to crack. Another way to make a
secure password is to turn a sentence into an acronym that's
meaningful to you. 'I sure wish it was Friday!' can be turned
into something such as 'IswiwF!'
The most important aspect of password security, however, is
that the passwords should be easy to remember and difficult to
guess. With secure passwords, you can make sure that your
private documents stay just that: private.
