This week’s topic for Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a thriller – passwords!
Creating strong passwords is one of the easiest ways to protect ourselves from someone logging into our accounts One easy step to keep yourself secure online is to use a strong password. Strong passwords are long, random, unique and include all four character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols). Password managers are a powerful tool to help you create strong passwords for each of your accounts.
Strengthen your passwords by using ALL THREE of these steps:
Make them long
At least 16 characters—longer is stronger!
Make them random
Two ways to do this are:
Use a random string of mixed-case letters, numbers and symbols. For example:
cXmnZK65rf*&DaaD
Yuc8$RikA34%ZoPPao98t
Create a memorable phrase of 5 – 7 unrelated words. This is called a “passphrase.” To make it even better, get creative with spelling and/or add a number or symbol. For example:
Strong: HorsePurpleHatRunBaconShoes
Stronger: HorsPerpleHatRunBayconShoos
Strongest: HorsPerpleHat#1RunBayconShoos
Make them unique
Use a different strong password for each account.
For example:
Bank: k8dfh8c@Pfv0gB2
Email account: LmvF%swVR56s2mW
Social media account: e246gs%mFs#3tv6
