Passwords are like passports or a blank check; if lost or stolen they give hackers a world of opportunity by providing access to your personal, financial and work data. The campus Password Policy helps you be proactive in selecting a strong passwords and managing them, to protect your identity and University resources. Once you’ve read and understood the password policy, you should change your NetID password and other campus passwords that do not meet the standards.
Strong passwords are at least eight characters long (containing both numbers and letters). They have both upper case and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters (!@#><.$%^&*) In order to keep passwords safe they should be kept private and memorized. They shouldn’t contain your name, login information, email address, initials etc. Weak passwords contain less than eight characters and something that can be found in a dictionary. The password is the same as your user name or login name. It is a common usage word such as names of family, pets, friends, computer terms, and birthdays or other personal information, or number patterns.
Don’t reveal a password over the phone or in person to anyone. Not your boss. Not your family. Not your co-workers. Don’t reveal a password in an email message. Don’t talk about a password in front of others. Don’t hint at the format of a password. Don’t reveal a password on questionnaires or security forms. Avoid writing passwords down, but if you must, store them in a secure place. Passwords should never be stored unencrypted on-line. Do not use the “Remember Password” feature of applications. Don’t use the default password, if one is provided. Change it immediately to a new, stronger password.