A lot of people are using weak passwords and leaving their accounts or devices vulnerable.
Here are few rules and criteria you should consider:
1. Don’t use anything related to you as your password e.g your nickname, your phone number, your date of birth, your mother’s name etc. If you do so, someone who knows you could guess it.
2. When setting up passwords, mix uppercase and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols. This will make your password harder to crack.
3. Do not use dictionary words. Dictionary words can be easily cracked by using dictionary cracking tools.
4. Make sure your password is at least 8 characters long. The lengthier the password the harder to crack.
5. Change your password periodically and make sure it is significantly different from the previous.
6. Don’t use the same password for all your accounts.
Your password might meet all the criteria above and still be weak. For example, Th@nkU2 meets some of the criteria for a strong password listed above, but it could still be weak because it contains a complete word. Th@nk U 2 is stronger alternatively, because it includes spaces.
Here are few tips to help you remember your password:
1. Create an acronym from an easy to remember piece of information. For example, pick a phrase that is meaningful to you, such as “My son’s birthday is 15 December, 2001“. Using that phrase as your guide, you might use “Msbi15/Dec,01” for your password.
2. You can also substitute numbers, symbols, and misspellings like this, “Mi$un’s Brthd8iz 1201” (it’s ok to use spaces in your password)
3. If you feel that you must write down your password to remember it, make sure don’t label it as password in case someone finds it.
~Faal – Teaching the world one pixel at a time!
Ousman Faal [Digital Vigilante] is a Tech Entrepreneur & Digital Skills Trainer who teaches both in the classroom and online. He has experience in various technologies and likes sharing it with others. Ousman has published 149 articles on this blog. He is the CEO of Faalen Technologies and Skills.gm.
