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.
- Pick an easy to remember word or words (e.g. dinosaur, RedRock, etc.)
- 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”
