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Securing Your Password

Overview
Tips for Creating a Strong Password
How to Keep Your Password Secure

Overview

To many people, a password is just another piece of information that needs to be remembered. It’s easy to forget that passwords serve an important function: they protect you, your data, the computing resources you access with it, and even other users on the same network. For example, if someone guesses or steals your password, then that person could:

• Access your files and e-mail.
• Log in to MC password-protected resources (e.g., Moodle) and view or change your information.
• Perform malicious acts in your name, such as sending threatening e-mails, deleting your files, or breaking into the network.

The first step to securing your password is to create a strong one that can’t be easily guessed or hacked by following the tips listed below.

 Tips for Creating a Strong Password

Below are some tips for creating a strong password.

• Use at least 14 characters.
• Use a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols.
• Do not use a word or name out of a dictionary in any language unless you significantly alter it in some way.
• Think of a sentence, phrase, or song lyric and then use the first letter of each word to create your password. (For example, a password created from “I was born in Chicago, Illinois on a snowy Friday afternoon” could be Iw*biC$Ioa&sFa.)
• Use a password that is different from prior passwords.
• Do not use a password that is based on personal information, such as your user name, pet’s name, mother’s maiden name, hometown name, birth date, social security number, driver’s license number, PIN number, etc.
• Test the strength of your password with a password checker. Microsoft has a good one at https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx.

How to Keep Your Password Secure

After you create a strong password, keep it secret. It’s against Monmouth College policy to share your password with anyone—-friends, coworkers, advisors, Information Systems Center staff, etc.

IMPORTANT! If anyone asks you for your password, DO NOT give it to them. If you receive a request for your password in a phone, email, or text message, then it’s probably a fraudulent phishing attempt. (For more information about phishing scams, go to http://department.monm.edu/is/secure-computing/phishing.htm.)

Additional recommendations for securing your password are below.

• Don’t write down your password. (If you must write down something, then write down a hint that will remind you of the password and keep it in a secure location, such as your wallet.)
• Change your password periodically (e.g., every 60 to 90 days) or whenever you feel it may have been compromised.
• Don’t select “Remember my password” on any website.
• Don’t choose to save your password if prompted by your browser or other program.
• Don’t enter your password on a shared computer in places with open Wi-Fi access, such as Internet cafes, public libraries, etc.
• Log off and close the web browser whenever you are finished using a site that you had to log in to.