Your password protects your personal information from others, just like the locks on your home. Creating a strong password is the most important way to keep your online information safe.
When creating a strong password, do NOT:
- Use consecutive numbers or letters such as 12345678 or abcdefg
- Use the word password or a common word such as dog or cat that can be found in a dictionary
- Use your pet’s name, your name, your spouse’s name, or a family member’s name as your password
- Use the same password for all of your online accounts
- Your favorite hobby or sports team name is a good choice as your password
- Use numbers you know such as your phone number, street address number, birthdate, anniversary date or Social Security number
DO:
- Create a unique password for each online account
- Use a combination of Upper Case and lower case letters as well as numbers and even symbols (such as the @ sign) in your passwords
- It’s a good idea to create a password as long as 14 characters or longer
- Use a Pass Phrase. A pass phrase is used as the password. It can be a string of words, a part of a quotation, or song lyrics. The pass phrase includes the spaces between words.Examples: The times they are a’changing or This is gonna be the best day
- Test your password at How Secure Is My Password
Note: passwords are case sensitive. This means that if you use a Capital Letter, you must always Capitalize that letter or the password will not work.