Password Best Practices

The security of any network is only as strong as the weakest password.

When selecting a password:

• Do Not use common (a.k.a. dictionary) words
• Do Not use common words spelled backwards
• Do Not use names of a child, pet, spouse, etc.
• Do Not use common numbers social security numbers, birth dates, etc.
• Do Not use a “pattern” of letters or numbers which follow the keyboard in any direction (e.g. 1234, asdf)
• Do Not use the same password for every account

• Do mix UPPER and lowercase letters
• Do use a mixture of numbers, letters, and punctuation when allowed.
• Do use a password with 8 or more character.

Here is a simple way to generate passwords, which meet most of the above guidelines and are easy to remember.

1. Pick an easy to remember word or words (e.g. dinosaur, RedRock, etc.)
2. On the keyboard transpose each letter one row up.

For example:

“Dinosaur” would become “E8h9wq74”

“RedRock” would become $3e$9di

This is commonly referred to as the “Blum Encryption Algorithm”