| How Safe your Password is? | ||
| The first step in protecting your online privacy is creating a safe password - i.e. one that a computer program or persistent individual will not easily be able to guess in a short period of time. To help you choose a secure password, we have created a feature that lets you know visually how safe your password is as soon as you create it. | ||
| Tips for creating a secure password: | ||
| 1. | Include punctuation marks and/or numbers. | |
| 2. | Mix capital and lowercase letters. | |
| 3. | Include similar looking substitutions, such as the number zero for the letter 'O' or '$' for the letter 'S'. | |
| 4. | Create a unique acronym. | |
| 5. | Include phonetic replacements, such as 'Luv 2 Laf' for 'Love to Laugh'. | |
| Things to avoid: | ||
| 1. | Don't use a password that is listed as an example of how to pick a good password. | |
| 2. | Do not use a password that contains personal information (name, birth date, etc.) | |
| 3. | Do not use words or acronyms that can be found in a dictionary. | |
| 4. | Don't use keyboard patterns (asdf) or sequential numbers (1234). | |
| 5. | Don't make your password all numbers, uppercase letters or lowercase letters. | |
| 6. | Don't use repeating characters (aa11). | |
| Tips for keeping your password secure: | ||
| 1. | Never tell your password to anyone (this includes significant others, roommates, parrots, etc.). | |
| 2. | Never write your password down. | |
| 3. | Never send your password by email. | |
| 4. | Periodically test your current password and change it to a new one. | |