So I got an email a few days ago that I had recieved a MySpace message from a friend. So I go out and login to my account and what do you know, it is a message from my “friend”. Only it wasn’t posted by my friend it was posted by someone who hacked his account and was posting porn crap through his account. Now you may be wondering how I know it was spam. My friend happens to be a missionary in a foreign country, I highly doubt, in fact I know that he would not post that. So this brings me to the main topic of the day, password security or as the case may be insecurity.

I will outline some basic principles for password security below, most of these are common sense. I will also elaborat on some good ideas for network level password security. So whether you are setting up a new password for work or personal following these guidlines can not hurt anything.

Secure Password Guidelines:

Things to NOT Do:

• Do not use any part of your username in your password.
• Do not use part of your first or last name in an unaltered form (i.e. last name Smith, use $m!th instead).
• Do not reuse the same password within 12 months period.
• Do not share your password with anyone.
• Do not write your password down anywhere.
• Do not use “password” for your password.

Things you SHOULD Do:

• Use mixed case (TeSt1235)
• Use Alphanumeric passwords ( t1e2s3t4)
• Change your password often (every 60 - 90 days)
• Use a password that is at least 8 characters long
• Use special characters in your password (!@#$%&*)

Tags: passwords, security, tutorial