PASSWORD SECURITY A Melbourne Athenaeum Library Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/keyboard-sure-privacy-policy-castle-628703 A Melbourne Athenaeum Library Cybersafety Information Guide Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/password-keyword-codeword-solution-397657

Why use passwords? One of the most common and effective ways to make it difficult to access your files and information is to use a password. A good password protects you from many threats including fraud, theft, identity theft, and general invasions of privacy. Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/enter-sign-password-membership-1643453/ Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/enter-sign-password-membership-1643453

Password dos and don’ts Do choose a strong password. Do use different passwords for different accounts and applications. Do change your password regularly. Don’t store your passwords on your browser. Don’t use obvious passwords such as your surname, first name, nickname, birthdate. Don’t reveal passwords to others.

Weak passwords Weak passwords such as abc123, qwerty, 12345, password and letmein are easy to remember and easy to crack! Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/password-reminder-post-note-sticker-1433096/ Passwords that contain personal information about you or your family and friends are also considered weak. Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/password-reminder-post-note-sticker-1433096

Strong passwords Unique Don’t use famous quotes or reuse previous passwords. Also try to use different passwords for different accounts. Long For many websites the minimum length is 8 characters. If you think you will be able to remember it, a longer password (12 to 16 characters) is often recommended. Not a word It doesn’t matter whether it is an English word or in another language. Anonymous This cannot be emphasised enough. Nobody should be able to guess your password because they’ve researched you. Memorable Some tips for making memorable passwords are listed at: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-ways-to-make-up-passwords-that-are-both-secure-memorable/

Additional security There are currently three common ways to make your devices and accounts more secure: Passphrases are a different way of making hard to crack passwords which are easier to remember. Multifactor authentication uses at least two methods of identification, often a password and a code sent to a mobile device. Password managers store and manage many different passwords for you.

Passphrases Passphrases are created by combining random words such as CorrectHorseBatteryStaple, rather than a combination of words, numbers, and symbols. The important thing to remember with a passphrase is that the words must be random. Even though they might be common words and therefore easy to remember much of the strength comes from the fact that they are unrelated to each other. To help get truly random words, there have been a number of lists created that allow you to generate passphrases by rolling dice. These are known as Diceware. More information about using Diceware to create passphrases is available at: http://world.std.com/~reinhold/diceware.html

Multifactor identification A security method that uses at least two means of identification, eg: A password. An additional code sent to a device. A physical token which must be connected. Biometric information such as fingerprint scanning. A common example of this is the ATM which is only accessible through the correct combination of bank card and password. The most common method for online multifactor identification is the password and code system, usually with the code sent to the user’s mobile phone number.

Password managers Another way to make managing your passwords easier is to use a password manager, some examples of these include: LastPass – https://www.lastpass.com/ Dashlane – https://www.dashlane.com/ KeePass – http://keepass.info/ 1Password – https://1password.com/ There are many more available by searching for ‘password manager’ in your preferred search engine. These services Store your passwords securely. Import passwords from you browser. Rate your passwords. Generate random passwords. Make your passwords available across your devices. Can autofill forms, etc.

A final warning We have used a number of password examples in this presentation. Don’t ever reuse a password that has been used as an example of a strong password because these will be among the first tried when attempting to crack it. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Other_dangers.svg Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mauritius_Road_Signs_-_Warning_Sign_-_Other_dangers.svg

Thank you Thank you for taking the time to read this guide. If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to ask library staff. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.