Suggestions for Creating Strong Passwords and Passphrases
When creating a strong password or passphrase, consider the following to make it both
secure and easy to remember.
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A strong password must contain at least 8 characters and have 3 of the 4 of the
following criteria:
 Upper case letter
 Lower case letter
 Number
 Special character (*&%$)
Avoid common phrases, lyrics, or quotations; these can be easy for hacker to guess.
However, you can create an acronym from the letters of the words in a phrase or
quotation that is memorable to you (ex: To be or not to be? Could become 2BRnot2B?)
While randomly selected words will make a stronger passphrase than words typically
used together, using your random words in a grammatical English sentence will make
the passphrase much easier to remember.
Combine two words or a word and a number sequence that is meaningful to you, for
example your favorite fruit and a memorable year (ex: kiwi and 1957 could be mixed as
K1i9wi57, Ki19wi57, or Ki1957wi)
Deliberately misspell words or substitute phonetic replacements throughout (ex:
Mississippi could become Mrs.Ippi)
*****Guidelines for keeping your passwords and passphrases secure*****
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Do not write your username and password or passphrase in the same place
Use a free password storage program like KeePassX
Never share your password or passphrase with anyone
Never send anyone your password or passphrase via email (even if the message
requesting your password seems official)
Change your password every 180 days per our policy at KU
The use of strong passwords/passphrases lowers the risk of security breaches from phishing,
spoofing, spamming and other vulnerabilities.