How can I choose a strong password? Print

Tips for choosing a strong password

Using weak passwords can leave your account vulnerable to hackers. They can easily guess your password if you are using a name, date of birth or words from the dictionary as your password. To keep your account safe, you must choose a strong password and keep that password in a safe place.

A secure and strong password will always contain:

1. At least eight characters.
2. At least one uppercase letter.
3. At least one lowercase letter.
4. At least one number.
5. And at least one symbol found on the keyboard. 

Sometimes you can use the criteria above and yet your password is still weak. Example: Hello2U! Why? Because it contains a word from the dictionary. H3ll02U! is a stronger alternative.

Help yourself create a stronger password with these tips:

1. Think of an easy to remember piece of information and turn it into an acronym format. Example: Scott was born on March 2nd, 1982 turn that intoSwboM,2nd/82 
   
   
2. Use your favorite hobby or sport and turn that into acryonym format. Example: My Favorite Sport is BasketBall would become Mf51B@sk3tBaLl
    
3. We recommend using a free password manager such as KeePass or LastPass, it allows you to generate secure passwords and store them in a encrypted database. You can manage all your complex passwords in one place without the hassle of having to remember each one. 

List of weak passwords you should NEVER use:

• password
• love
• website
• your name
• country name
• your date of birth
• 123456
• 654321
• family member names
• pet names
• words found in the dictionary