Picking a secure password is one of the most important things you can do to protect your online privacy. A good password should be:
- Known only to you
- Long enough to be secure
- Hard to guess -- even by someone who knows you well
- Easy for you to remember and type accurately
- Passwords should be changed periodically, usually every three to six months
What NOT To Use
- Don't use your first or last name in any form (as-is, reversed, capitalized, etc.)
- Don't use your spouse's or child's name
- Don't use your pet's name
- DON'T use a password shorter than six characters
- Don't use other information easily obtained about you. This includes license plate, telephone or social security numbers, the name of the street you live on, etc.
- Don't use a password of all digits, or all the same letter
What TO Use
- A password with mixed-case alphabetics
- A password that includes numbers as well as letters
- A password that is easy to remember, so you don't have to write it down