Security Awareness Tip of The Day

http://www.sans.org/tip_of_the_day.php

Passwords: Be creative

If you can't remember hard passwords no matter how hard you try, put your password in parenthesis. baseball38 is a weak password. (baseball38) is much better.

When you change your password, you should always change at least half of it and when you do, change the parentheses as well. Change the parentheses to asterisks, exclamation points or dollar signs. *sallyandbob39* is better than sallyandbob39, and !jimandbetty93! is better than jimandbetty93.

August 19, 2013

Change your password on a schedule.

Passwords are like bubble gum; they are better when fresh. The longer and more complex your password is, the harder it is to crack, and the less often you'll need to change it. If you use an 8-character password, you should change it about every six months. Remember: Never use a password with less than 8 characters. If you use a 9-character password and follow the rules about uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, it will stay fresh for a whole year. If you can't remember the last time you changed your password, it's time to change it.