The best passwords are a secret - it's a FACT!

22nd April 2015 :: Author: Andrew Cope, Managing Director, Evergreen

password2The best passwords are a secret - it's a FACT! Just how secret are your best passwords?

Do you share passwords? Or have you guessed your colleagues' secret passwords or do they know yours?

FACT! The use of secure and hard-to-guess passwords is essential to protect your business and systems to make it difficult, ideally impossible for a malicious hacker to break into your data. 

Avoid predictable keywords, names of family and friends, pets and dates of birth – all of these things can be easily guessed or worked out.

There are various methods that you can use to introduce variety into your passwords makes it easy for you to remember them but virtually impossible for others to guess them.

Combinations

  • Use a combination of symbols, CAPITALS, letters and numbers

  • Substitute numbers for letters based on their appearance for example 2 for Z, 5 for S and   6 for B

  • Substitute numbers for letters based on their position on the QWERTY keyboard

  • Consistently capitalised the nth letter(s) of your password

Password 1Storage & Security

  • Store passwords in a ‘password safe’ tool.

  • Ensure your computer has an anti-virus programme

  • Use different passwords for each system

  • Ensure your anti-viral software is up to date

  • Use a 2 Step Log in

  • It’s also important to introduce a procedure for regularly changing passwords within the office (and home), for example monthly, but beware to avoid a predictable pattern for  i.e.  01, 02, 03

Finally set yourself a password change reminder in your diary so that you don't forget - it will soon become habit!