Passwords have become an increasingly common and important part of our lives. We rely on them to protect and access private information on countless websites, applications, and systems, at home, work, and school. Many of us default to weak passwords because they are easy or convenient to remember. The truth is, that while convenient, weak passwords are only putting the sensitive information you are trying to protect, at increased risk. Below are a few tips on what constitutes a strong password and how to create one:

• Never use personal information: Passwords must not include references to personal information such as names, birthdays, anniversaries, addresses, pet’s names, or phone numbers.
• Include a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols: Use a mix of uppercase – and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters in your passwords. Note: the special characters acceptable for your NYIT password are: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ + = [ { ] } \ | ; : ' " , < . > ? / `)
• Do not use memorable keyboard paths: The password “qwerty123!” may seem like a random character string, but passwords like this are more common than you think.
• Long passwords are better: It is now recommended to use passwords of at least 10 characters. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack.
• Don’t recycle passwords: Reusing passwords across different accounts is a bad idea. If the password on one account becomes compromised, hackers now have the password to every account you use that password for. Same goes for modifying a root password that changes with the addition of a prefix or suffix.

What are some methods to create a strong password?

• Sentence method: Instead of choosing a word, choose a sentence and take the first letters of each word and combine that with numbers and special characters to create a seemingly random combination of characters.
• Passphrase method: Choose four or more random words (not references to personal information) and combine them, mixing in upper – and lowercase letters while adding numbers and special characters.
• Password generators: The strongest password are a completely random string of letters, numbers, and special characters. If you have trouble creating one on your own, there are a number of free password generators online you can use.