Frequently Asked Questions

A good password is complex enough for no-one to be able to figure it out, but also memorable enough for you not to forget it. It’s important to have a strong password in case your computer is attacked.

Tips:
•    It should be at least 8 characters long. The longer it is, the stronger it is
•    Don’t use your name, username or company name
•    Avoid complete words, including names and places
•    Use both uppercase and lowercase letters
•    Use numbers, but don’t just add ‘1’ or ‘123’ at the end
•    You can use number to replace letters, for example ‘noisy’ could become ‘n015y’
•    Use symbols such as ‘!’, ‘@’, ‘#’, ‘&’ or ‘%’
•    Use acronyms, for example ‘my favourite film is the Lion King’ becomes ‘mffitlk’
•    Some people recommend creating a ‘passphrase’ from 4 or 6 random words, for example ‘correcthorsebatterystaple’
•    Make sure you change it at least once a year. When you change it, make it something completely different to your previous one

howsecureismypassword.net is a website that calculates how long it would take a computer to guess your password. It also gives you tips on how you could improve that password. But as it says, you need to be careful where you type your password, so use it to try different fake passwords to see what makes them strong.

Good examples:
{Tr34uR3_hun2er/}
F01Led_Aga!n

Bad examples:
123456
qwerty
password