Why do we need passwords?

The blunt answer to this question is that we do not trust everyone. Passwords are not designed to be a nuisance. Rather, they are used as a security mechanism that not only protects individual privacy but also helps to protect sensitive information (such as member billing information or club financial data) and track who has access to it.

What is a secure password?

A secure password is identified by the following characteristics:

• Changes on a regular basis (every 45 days is suggested)
• Minimum length of eight characters
• Contain numbers (at least two) and alpha characters (both upper and lower case)
• Alpha characters and numbers are mixed up and not appended to either end. For example, 123tdcph is bad, but vB3oxJk5j1 is good.
• Should not contain dictionary words or your User ID
• Should not be written down anywhere

How do I pick a secure password?

Picking a password that is easy to remember and fits all of the above criteria is no easy task. Remembering a phrase, however, is fairly easy; you simply use the first letter of each word as your password. It is suggested that you pick a phrase that relates to your family or personal interests because it is easy to remember. For example, the phrase "My 1st child was born on 7/14 at Oakridge Hospital" would create "M1cwbo714aOH" as a password, which is quite easy to remember.

Information derived from "Hackers Beware" by Eric Cole, pages 291-294 (© 2002 New Riders Publishing).