Password security

     Tips to protect yourself

Think of your PC, mail and Internet Banking passwords. Now be prepared to think of some new ones.

Why? Because a high-powered server or desktop used by a professional hacker can make one hundred billion password guesses per second. So, if your password contains a combination of 6 or less letters and numbers it would take only 0.0224 seconds for a professional to crack it if they wanted to.

However, if your password consists of 10 letters and numbers it would take 10.45 hours for a professional to crack – now that’s much better.

If you are serious about security and your password includes a symbol of any kind then you are much, much safer. Using an unusual symbol and at least one upper case letter means a professional would take 54.46 years to crack it – that’s more like it!

Here are some simple tips for creating passwords:

1. Length – Make your passwords long with eight or more characters (preferably 10)

2. Complexity – Include at least one uppercase letter PLUS a symbol.

3. Variation – To keep strong passwords effective, change them about every three months.

4. Variety – Don’t use the same password for everything.

And don’t under any circumstances use:

1. Dictionary words in any language.

2. Words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and abbreviations.

3. Sequences or repeated characters. Examples: 12345678, 222222, abcdefg, or adjacent letters on your keyboard (qwerty).

4. Personal information. Your name, birthday, driver’s license, passport number, or similar information.