Passwords
Passwords are crucial in keeping your personal information confidential
and your computer system secure. A smart rule of thumb is to never
share your passwords with anyone! And it’s not only email that you
should worry about… sharing any of your passwords can result in
losing access to saved files, and to private
information… like your banking account.
Selecting Passwords
The object when choosing a password is to
make it as difficult as possible for a would-be
intruder to make educated guesses about
what you've chosen.
Simple Guidelines:
Don't use your login name in any form (as-is,
reversed, capitalized, doubled, etc.).
Don't use your first or last name in any form.
Don't use other information easily obtained about
you. This includes license plate numbers, telephone
numbers, social security numbers, the name of the street
you live on, etc.
Don't use a password shorter than six characters.
Do use a password with mixed-case letters.
Do use a password with non-alphabetic characters,
e.g., digits or punctuation.
Do use a password that is easy to remember, so you
don't have to write it down.
Do use a password that you can type quickly, without
having to look at the keyboard. This makes it harder for
someone to steal your password by watching over your
shoulder.
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There are several methods for choosing secure, easy-to-remember
passwords that obey the above rules. Some of these include the
following:
Make up a unique sentence and use the first letter of
each word in the sentence. Then throw in a digit or
punctuation mark.
Alternate between one consonant and one or two
vowels, up to eight characters. This provides nonsense
words that are usually pronounceable, and easily
remembered. Examples include "rouTboo", "quadPop" and
so on (to which you would add a digit or punctuation
mark).
Choose two short words and concatenate them
together with a punctation character between them. For
example: "doG;rain" "bOOk+mug", "kid?goAt".
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The following NNKOL videos will provide more information on Password
Creation and Protecting your Identity.
NNKOL Video
Password Creation [6:28]
Privacy and the Internet: Protecting Your Identity [4:54]
Internet
http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/tech/internetsafety/passwords.htm
Internet Safety
http://security.getnetwise.org/tips/passwords
Get Net Wise
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Answer the following questions to the best of your ability.
Refer to the NNKOL videos or the web sites in Resources if you need
help.
1. When choosing a password, use personal information - it’s easy for
you to remember.
a. True
b. False
2. Experts insist that in order to be truly secure, every password needs
to be different.
a. True
b. False
3. NNKOL suggests using the same passwords even for different levels
of security.
a. True
b. False
4. List three ways of protecting your password that were mentioned in
the video.
5. Memorizing passwords is always better than writing them down.
a. True
b. False
Notes:
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By following NNKOL tips on choosing and protecting passwords your
privacy and security should be well protected.
Remember passwords exist for a reason and it is up to you to keep
them to yourself.
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