Password Advice

Weak passwords make you an easy target

Cyberbullies never use their own email and IM accounts to send malicious messages. They safeguard their identities by stealing passwords – so they escape detection and their victims get the blame.
Don’t be a victim of password theft - protect your password by following these simple rules:

  • DON’T share your password 
    with ANYONE
  • DON’T ever write your password down 
    (note down hints to help you remember 
    it instead).
  • DON’T choose anything that could be easily guessed 
    (dates of birth, favourite football teams/pop stars, relatives/pets names, etc)
  • DON’T choose words that exist in the Dictionary
  • DON’T choose long passwords. (Short and secure is better than long and forgettable!)
  • DON’T leave yourself ‘logged in’ to school computers
  • DO choose something you can definitely remember
  • DO use the first letters of a phrase or song (E.g. Oops I Did it Again would be oidia)
  • DO use real words with extra letters (e.g. hhappy)
  • DO add words together with numbers in the middle (e.g. fun4you)
  • DO keep a vigilant eye out for shoulder surfing password thieves

Some useful password links

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/08/password_advice.html - a bit "full on", but good advice

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/create.aspx - similarly a bit complicated

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx - check your password strength