IT Security - Passwords part 2
Posted by Daryl Rinaldi on Mon, Dec 28, 2009 @ 05:12 PM
The previous post told you about a cool little tool called Roboform that allows you to not have to remember a bunch of different passwords. As an IT Support company, we at GizmoFish advise our customers on IT Security best practices. Part of that discussion is often providing advice on creating passwords that are longer, more complex, and therefore more secure. Here are some tips:
1. Think pass-phrase, not pass-word. A long phrase of strung together words can be just as easy to remember but much harder to crack. Ex."TheBostonCelticsbeatLA".
2. Use an absolute minimum of 8 characters (more is better.) Using an easy to remember phrase makes it much easier to add length.
3. Replace letters with numbers or symbols in words. 1 for i or l, 0 for o, @ for a or e, 5 or $ for s are just a few examples. Ex. TheB0st0nCelt1c$be@tLA"
4. Use the first letters of the 1st line of your favorite song. Ex. There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold = talwsatgig. Easy to remember (sing to yourself), hard to guess.
5. Never use your name or initials in any passphrase. C'mon, how easy do you want to make it for the bad guys? Ditto your birthdate. Think that info is hard to get?