Strong passwords: How to create and use them

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Your passwords are the keys you use to unlock your computer and online accounts. The stronger the password, the better the security against intrusion by hackers and thieves, who could use your information to open new credit card accounts, apply for a mortgage, or even chat online disguised as you—and you wouldn't know it until it was too late. It's not hard to create strong passwords. With a small amount of effort on your part and some tricks provided in this article, you can help improve the security of your computer.

Full article at the Microsoft website.

[andsome]

All common sense really.

[r4may]

Normal practice in IT

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Password Checker - reates your passwords as weak or strong:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/p...rd_checker.mspx

[Rebuilt]

The password checker is a bit of ajoke to be perfectly honest, I put in chris109 and it reported it as strong!!!!

Good article if a little OTT for home users.

[homecomputeraid]

Chris109 could be a relatively strong password as long as your name isn't Chris, and you weren't born on 10/9 (or 109 doesn't come from somewhere people could have easy access to). :)

I have a few I use where I take the first letter of each word in a phrase I can remember, or use a relatively uncommon object from around the room like TelTronicsSEB!!

[Scarecrow Man]

A "strong" password should consist of:

letters

numbers

special characters (if allowed)

at least 8 characters

Using those rules, I come up with:

dur276_{>;

Useable? Sometimes no. Easy to remember? Heck no! Strong? YES!

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Good article if a little OTT for home users.

Thanks for Acronym Finder - I wouldn't have guessed what OTT means :smile: