Choosing a secure password is one of the most important ways to help protect your computer and personal information. Although the goal to make passwords difficult for others to figure out, creating strong passwords is pretty simple and straightforward. Use the following tips to protect your accounts from unwanted access.

1.)    ALWAYS MAKE YOUR PASSWORD LONG!

Passwords should be a minimum of eight characters or longer if possible. In general, the longer the password, the better.

2.)    DO NOT USE ONLY LETTERS!

Use various numbers, symbols, and punctuations when possible. Also try to mix upper case and lower case letters. This also increases the strength of the password.

3.)    DO NOT USE PERSONAL INFORMATION!

Your name, spouse's name, kids names, dog's name, mom or dad's name, maiden name, high school, high school mascot, hometown, ...you get the idea. Many of these may be found on the Internet. Use things that are truly unrelated to you.

4.)    DO NOT USE WORDS LISTED IN STANDARD DICTIONARIES!

There are programs out that can go through a dictionary and try every word as your password. This includes foreign language dictionaries.

5.)    DO NOT USE WORDS WITH KEYS THAT ARE CLOSE TOGETHER!

Words like qwerty, tryout, 12345, and hhhhh should all be off limits. These are easy for someone to pick out if they happen to glance over your shoulder while you are typing your password.

6.)    CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD REGULARLY!

Changing your password once a month is a good habit to start. This will keep hackers on their toes and keep someone from being able to access your account if by some means they have acquired your previous password.

7.)    DO NOT STORE YOUR PASSWORD IN AN INSECURE PLACE!

In your wallet, in a file on acme, on your dorm dresser, these are all terrible places to keep your "secure" password. The most secure place to keep your password, is in your head. If you must write it down though, put it in a place that will be locked up, and difficult to find.

   Here are some suggestions to help you choose a secure password:

1.)    USE OFF-THE-WALL WORDS AND PHRASES!

Ex: Shark_batE (notice the capitalization and underscore)

2.)    PUT WORDS INSIDE OF WORDS!

Ex: WOcenterRD

3.)    FLIP WORDS AND SPLIT THEM IN DIFFERENT PLACES!

Ex: esAb.bAll

4.)    MISSPELL WORDS ON PURPOSE!

Ex: TOeTALLY

5.)    USE THE FIRST LETTERS OF WORDS IN A PHRASE!

Ex: IsIpC. ( Information Security Is Pretty Cool .)

6.)    USE VISUALLY SIMILAR CHARCTERS! Change S to $ or 5, Change O to zero, Change I to one, Change Z to 2, change G to 6, change g to 9, change B to 8.
Ex: Phrase "Protecting information at BGSU!" Pia86$U!