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GUC Password Policy
About Passwords
Your password is the only way a computer can verify that the person using your account is really you.
Anyone who can enter your password can access your account as if they were you -- perusing your private data,
reading your electronic mail, altering or destroying your files, or performing illegal activities in your name.
Think of your password as a key:
Telling someone your password is like giving them a copy of the keys to your house.
Having an insecure password is like leaving your front door unlocked, and in the electronic world malicious people are
trying your doorknob every day. Choosing a secure password lets you protect your data and software as vigilantly as you
would your tangible belongings.
Never Tell Anyone Your Password
You should never give your password to anyone else. Anyone who knows your password may perform acts using your account that you may be blamed for.
Password Guidelines
Obeying the following guidelines when choosing a password will guard against someone finding out your password and using your account illegally.
DO:
- Use a password that is at least 8 characters long.
- Use a password with a mix of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers, and punctuation. The more different characters you use, the more secure your password is.
- Choose a password that is easy to remember. If you have to write down your password then you won't be able to keep it safe.
- Change your password often. Don't give attackers the time to try your password against every possible combination of letters, numbers and punctuation.
DON'T:
- Use your login name in any form. This includes backwards, doubled, capitalised, etc.
- Use a word in the dictionary. It is easy for attackers to test your password against every word in every known language.
- Use anybody's name. Names are easy to guess, even reversed, or capitalised, and are the first thing an attacker tries.
- Use any personal information. Any information another person can find out about you is not secure. This includes your date of birth, address, telephone number, staff or student ID number, and the same information about anyone you know.
- Use a password that is easily spotted when typing. Passwords that make patterns on the keyboard, like qwer1234, are easy for people looking over your shoulder to recognise.
- Re-use an old password. If someone already knows your old password you are just re-opening the door for them.
Choosing a Secure Password
Try the following techniques for choosing a secure password.
- Choose a line or two from a song, poem, or other phrase and use the first letter, or second letter, etc, of each word with some punctuation and numbers included.
- Choose two short unrelated words and concatenate them together with a punctuation character between them and at the start or end.
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