Choosing a safe and memorable password.

Choosing a strong and memorable password.

Do all my computers and user accounts need a password? Yes they do! One of the commonest causes of hacked computers, tablets or phones is a non-existent or weak password.

How do you choose a safe PASSWORD? Follow these simple guidelines. Firstly, your passwords should be as long as possible, use at least 12 characters.

Passwords shouldn't consist of a single word in ANY language.

Use both UPPER CASE & lower case characters. You can also use non alpha-numeric symbols.

But don’t use easily sourced personal information, such as your birthday, the name of your pet, your CRSid, your postcode, or street name.

Instead, DO USE a passphrase such as Apple Currents Chicken Armour. Using popular words such as your favourite movie are less safe. Random unassociated words are much stronger, so use them if you can remember them.

For example, Unrelated words with punctuation, a sentence that is nonsense, the first letter of each word in a phrase or song title, but avoid well known quotes or sayings.

Never give password information out through an unsolicited phone call or in an email. Don’t write them down or share with ANYONE. No, not even your PET!

Please don’t use the same password for everything, especially not these: 123456, qwerty or password, which are the most commonly used passwords and very easy to crack!

Use different passwords for your home and work computers.

Be discreet while typing your password, don't let others see you key it in.

Another thought, if you are travelling, remember to check that your password characters are available on foreign keyboards.

If you use your own devices for work purposes such as a tablet or a phone or laptop ensure that these are secured by a password or pin.

So, how do you recognise a good password? Not this one, Apple will take a computer micro seconds to crack!

Whereas Apple-Curr will take one year, it has just five more characters. But it can still be improved.

Apple-Currents-Chicken-Armour takes 72 decillion years to crack using today's tools! We haven't tested this but the principle holds, use a long passphrase.

So, a question for you. Which password is the strongest? A) or B) My favourite ice cream is chutney?

The correct answer is:

B Remember, size does matter! and it is the LENGTH that is important. The longer and more unpredictable the better, but do keep it memorable!

So how do you change your UIS password? Go here. https://password.csx.cam.ac.uk/ But what if you have passwords for other institutional systems? Go to your local IT Officer or contact the UIS service desk.

You can check to see how safe your passwords are using the Password Management system. https://password.csx.cam.ac.uk/person/yourCRSidhere/change-passwd

Can’t remember all your passwords? We all have that problem. Remember, don’t write them down! But don’t worry, there is a solution to this.

Consider using a password manager application to store your passwords, but do be careful before you download any such software. Contact your friendly local IT Department or Computer Officer for advice, or email the UIS Service Desk, service-desk@uis.cam.ac.uk