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Protecting your passwords

Protecting your passwords

A password is a secret series of characters that enable you to access a file, computer, program or other protected material. A password is used to gain access to areas on the internet, including areas where you may wish to protect or restrict access to personal information.

Create a strong password

Whether you bank online or are just sending a few emails, it’s important to use secure passwords.

In order to keep your password secure, make sure you don’t use words that other people would find easy to guess. You can do this by making sure you use a combination of letters (both upper and lower case), characters and numbers in your password. Don’t just use dictionary words, a random string is less easy for others to crack.

Ideally, the password should be eight or more characters in length. Passwords should be changed regularly. It’s recommended you change passwords and account log-in information at least every three months.

Other tips include:

  • use more than one password for different accounts
  • if using a public computer, don’t select ‘Remember me’ when logging into an account
  • use a completely new password every time a password is changed and never reuse old passwords.

Keep your password secure

Passwords should be carefully protected. Keep all passwords secret, and keep them in a safe place. If you keep them in an electronic document on your computer ensure that that document itself is password protected. If you do prefer to write them down make sure that you keep the the information is well away from your computer, and that is presented in a way that’s not instantly recognisable as ‘your big long list of secure passwords’.

Children and young people are advised to:

  • use more than one password for different accounts
  • protect any recorded passwords in a secure place which could include online and using password manager software
  • never provide passwords over email
  • change passwords regularly
  • if using a public computer, not select ‘Remember me’ when logging into an account
  • use a completely new password every time a password is changed and never reuse old passwords.