They say we shouldn't use the same password for everything.
They say we shouldn't use our name, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, jersey numbers, or any other personal information that can be easily found in an online search.
They say a strong password contains both lowercase and uppercase letters, and numbers.
They say we should change our password frequently.
They don't say how we should keep track of it all.
For my classes alone you will need passwords for:
- Edmodo
- Renaissance Learning
- Arcola network (just logging on a computer)
No, you do not have control over all of your usernames and passwords. Some you will simply have to write down or memorize (like Renaissance).
But, when you can select your own username and/or password, here are some tips to make your life a little easier:
- Use the same username as much as possible; for example, first initial, last name. If you must have a number in your user name, choose the same number everytime - your year of birth, your area code, even just a 1.
- Remember, most passwords require 6-16 characters.
- Have 2 or 3 passwords that you use consistently for everything: one for anything dealing with money, one for anything dealing with social networks, and one for anything professional (school, college, etc.). That way, if your password for a social network would happen to get hacked, the same password would not allow someone into your bank account.
- Create your passwords with letters and numbers from the very beginning. You may have to invert the order (letters+numbers, numbers+letters) for a particular site, but that would be easier than creating an entirely new password.
- So that your password does not contain any personal information, combine:
- famous names and dates, ex., Revolution1776
- your favorite athlete and their number (unless everyone knows that you are likely to use that athlete), ex., Payton 34
- a phone number (not related to you) that you remember easily, ex., UncleJoe4190
- the date a famous record was broken, ex., McGwire98
- your favortie vacation and the year you went, ex. Ogunquit1985
Create 2 or 3 strong passwords, and use those faithfully for awhile. In a few months, either change those passwords, or rotate them.
For more ideas on how to create strong passwords, consult the following links:
"Geek to Live: Choose (and remember) great passwords"
Safe Password generator
"How to Create a Memorable Super Secure Password"
Microsoft Safety and Security Center
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