IPFW Home
IT ResourcesTitle Photo

Guidelines for Choosing a Good Password

Making a Good Password Work

  • Never write it down.
  • NEVER share it with anyone.
  • NEVER send it in an e-mail message.
  • Don't use your log in name.
  • Don't use simple transformations of words (7eleven, fonix)
  • Don't use the name of anyone or anything
  • Don't use any English, or foreign language, word or abbreviation.
  • Don't use any personal information. For example, don't use initials, phone number, social security number, job title, organizational unit, etc.
  • Don't use keyboard sequences, e.g., qwerty.
  • Don't use any of the above things spelled backwards, or in caps, or otherwise disguised.
  • Don't use an all numeric password.
  • Don't use a sample password, no matter how good, that you've gotten from a book that discusses computer security.
  • DO use a mixture of numbers and mixed-case letters.
  • DO use at least eight characters.
  • DO use a seemingly random selection of letters and numbers.
  • DO choose a password that you will remember.

* The above information was adapted from TCP/IP Network Administration by Craig Hunt, published by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. copyright May 1994, 1st Edition

Bad Password Good Password
student1 Just a lowercase word with a number; very easy to crack. Stu&1Dnt Misspell and split the word; also add some capital letters and punctuation.
indy500 Just a lowercase word with a number, plus it's a common phrase. iNDy5Hn't{ Change capitalization, remove the double zero, and add a brace.
dog3cat Still just words with a number do3gc3at The same words and the same number so you can remember it, but chopped up so that it's hard to guess.
abc123 A standard pattern, easily guessed by the computer's cracking dictionaries. a1bB2$c3 Double up the b's, add a capital letter and a dollar sign.
ats1029 Initials plus birthdate. Easily researched - not too secure. 1a0T2s9 One capital letter, plus mixing the numbers and letters. Much, much tougher to crack.
Teacher2 An example from a second-grade teacher to be. ItchK-5Grd A sentence, "I teach K through 5th grade."
14France The 14 is from Bastille Day, 14 July. VvlaFr14 Based on a sentence, "Vive la France," with the same 14.
Some other ideas for deriving a good password from a sentence that means something to you. I8a^Brgr4dnr "I ate a carrot-burger for dinner."
hErU,gn "Here you come again."
I$itqtr24yt "Is it a quarter to 4 yet?"
TkMe2$t.L "Take me to Saint Louis."
HsE<yt? "Has he left yet?"
* Thanks to Indiana University NorthWest for the table of good and bad passwords

How to change your IPFW password

Why are passwords important?