While the words should be uncommon, try to compose a phrase that gives you a mental image. This will help you remember. To crank it up another notch in complexity, you can add random characters in the middle of your words or between the words. This method is also described as the "Bruce Schneier Method.
Make sure the sentence you choose is as personal and unguessable as possible. Each of these can help with better and more secure authentications. A password manager keeps track of all of your passwords and does all the remembering for you, except for one thing — the master password which grants you access to your password manager.
For that big kahuna, we encourage you to use every tip and trick listed above. The programs also come with generators, such as the Avast Random Password Generator shown below, so you can create super-complicated, extra-long passwords that are infinitely more difficult to crack than any passwords a human might come up with. PC Magazine has a series of recommendations of password managers here.
Check the Avast Hack Check site to see if your password has been leaked in previous data breaches. If it has, change your password on your email account immediately. Before starting up accounts, creating passwords, and entrusting a website with sensitive info, take a moment to assess the site. Does it have https in the address bar, ensuring a secure connection? Do you get the sense it is up on the newest security standards of the day?
If not, think twice about sharing any personal data with it. Multi-factor authentication MFA adds an extra layer of protection which becomes your first layer of protection should your account details ever get leaked. These have become the new industry standard for effective security. In our blog post here , we explain how they are used and how you can add MFA to common social accounts such as Twitter and Facebook. They require something in addition to a password, such as biometrics fingerprint, eye scan, etc.
Further reading: How to use multi-factor authentication for safer apps. This is a well-trod path by many hackers in the past few years. The best MFA method is to use a specialized app for your smartphone. The app generates a one-time PIN that you enter as the additional factor during your login process. The PINs automatically change every 30 seconds. It serves as your MFA, granting you file access only if you physically have the key. In , Google mandated all of its employees to begin using security keys , and the company claims it has not experienced a single data breach among its 85, workers since.
They have their own product called the Titan Security Key , designed specifically to protect people against phishing attacks. For MFA and security keys: check out the FIDO alliance , which is working on creating strong authentication standards for desktop and mobile apps. But now such devices also operate their own fingerprint or facial recognition systems.
Features limited to high-end, expensive phones just five years ago are increasingly commonplace and accessibly priced. Since Microsoft launched its Windows 10 operating system last year, such password-free authentication is starting to come to desktops too. Device geolocation — if users are willing to share such information — is potentially another added layer of security.
Indeed, in a sense this more efficient device-led proposal is akin to the way in which an ATM requires both PIN number and the physical bank card.
It works because people want a much easier engagement with business that have secured sites and the ease of use is better for business too. Andrew Shikiar agrees. Using devices would not only give a better user experience — people are already used to unlocking their phones using biometrics — but it would get rid of scaleable cyber attacks.
It would necessitate a behavioural change, but we have to break our dependence on passwords. He reckons the majority of mainstream consumer services online will have a password-free means of accessing them within five years. Login uoZone Brightspace VirtuO. Search uOttawa.
Search one of the following. Entire site Library Employee directory. Information Technology. Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer and personal information. The stronger your password, the more protected your computer will be from hackers and malicious software. Passwords should contain at least 9 characters. Passwords should contain at least 1 uppercase letter Passwords should contain at least 1 lowercase letter Passwords should contain at least 1 numerical character Symbol characters are encouraged e.
Personal information includes logon I. Passwords should not be words that can be found in a standard dictionary English or foreign or are publicly known slang or jargon. Passwords should not be trivial, predictable, or obvious. Passwords should not be based on publicly known fictional characters from books, films, and so on. Following are examples of some techniques for creating passwords. Use a word with one or two digits embedded in it. Examples: HOu32SE! Make up an acronym based on a nursery rhyme, a favorite song or movie, or a sentence.
Examples: MHAll76! Drop vowels or drop everything but the first 6 letters of a long word or two words. These too, can be inserted anywhere. Misspell a word, drop a couple of letters or add some. Example: 4CUZZ02vis 9. No employee is to give, tell, or hint at their password to another person, including IT staff, administrators, superiors, other co-workers, friends, or family members, under any circumstances.
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