Choosing a good password

The most important security mechanism for your account is your password. The computer uses your password to verify your identity.

• Don't tell anyone else your password.
• Don't write it down if you can avoid it. Either pick a password that you are sure you can remember, or write it down in some location where no one would suspect it is a password---i.e., nowhere near a computer.
• For security, a good password should not be a proper name, or a word that is in the dictionary, or anything else that someone else might be able to guess.
• Words containing capital letters or special characters or digits are good choices. Passwords must be 6--8 characters long.
• One strategy for passwords that are both hard to guess and easy to remember: think of a memorable phrase or sentence, and then make an acronym from it. For example, the phrase ``A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'' produces the acronym "Abithiw2", which should be pretty hard to guess.

Once you have selected your account name and password, ask the User Consultant to create your account. You must come to Speare Hall, go downstairs to the help desk and see the User Consultant (UC) on duty. Follow the UC's directions to obtain your account.

Last updated: 1999/01/09 20:21:15 UT
URL: http://www.nmt.edu/tcc/help/unix/password.html