Don't Use:
- Any part of your name - first, last, or middle
- Your initials
- Your social security number
- Names of friends, family, or pets
- Birthdays
- Phone numbers or addresses
- Any other personal information that could be guessed
- Place names
- Words from the English dictionary
- Words from a foreign dictionary
- Your username or login name
- Your computer's name
- Repetition of the same letter
- Sequences of keyboard keys, such as "12345" or "qwerty"
- Any minor variation of the above, such as spelling backwards or appending
a character to the end of your name
Do Use:
- Special characters (*!$+) mixed with letters and numbers
- Mixed upper- and lower-case letters - putting capitals in random locations
throughout a password is effective
- Punctuation characters mixed with letters and numbers
- Nonsense words that are easy to pronounce but aren't in any dictionary
- Six or more characters
Hint: A good way to choose a secure but easily remembered password is to
use the first character of each word in a phrase. For instance, "Asb*Mf"
stands for "April showers bring May flowers"; the asterisk in the
middle is included for extra security. (Don't use this password!)