CST8118 Computer Essentials - Passwords PDF

CST8118 Computer Essentials Passwords  Week 1: Passwords Passwords Overview What is a password? What is the purpose of a password? Top 10 most common passwords list (do not use common passwords) Rules for Creating Strong Passwords Problems w...

CST8118 Computer Essentials Passwords  Week 1: Passwords Passwords Overview What is a password? What is the purpose of a password? Top 10 most common passwords list (do not use common passwords) Rules for Creating Strong Passwords Problems with Strong Passwords What is a Passphrase? Guidelines for avoiding weak passwords Best Practices for Passwords Helpful password web links 2  Passwords Overview What is a Password A password is a string of symbols A symbol is can be any key on the keyboard / pad Symbol can be a letter/digit/punctuation marks The Purpose of Passwords To limit access to a computer or system to only those who know the sequence of symbols Knowledge of the sequence is limited to a few people used for user authentication / to prove identity of the user 3  Passwords Overview The Purpose of Passwords To limit access to a computer or system to only those who know a sequence of keyboard characters If I were to ask you to create a password right now you would most likely experience “password dilemma.” You may be likely to choose a password that is very easily remembered. Such as “password” 4  Top 10 most common passwords list: Professional Practice – Do not use common passwords. 1.123456 2.123456789 3.qwerty 4.password 5.12345 6.qwerty123 7.1q2w3e 8.12345678 9.111111 10.1234567890 Source: P. Masiliauskas. Most common passwords: latest 2022 statistics. cybernews.com. https://cybernews.com/best-password-managers/most-common-passwords/ (accessed Dec 28, 2022). 5  Rules for Creating Strong Passwords There are two essential rules for creating strong passwords: Rule 1 – Password Length Stick with passwords that are at least 15 symbols in length. The more characters the better. Ideally passwords should be 60 symbols or longer. 6  Rules for Creating Strong Passwords Rule 2 – Password Complexity For a very strong password you should have symbols from the following groups Lower case alphabets Upper case alphabets Numbers Punctuation characters 7  Strong Password 8 4 Rule (out of date) Sometimes you will hear of the something called the “8 4 Rule” 8 = 8 characters minimum length 4 = 1 lower case + 1 upper case + 1 number + 1 special character Rule is considered out of date but often older databases tend to use it. 8  Problems with Strong Passwords Strong passwords are very hard to remember. A password manager helps store passwords Password Dragon Dashlane Pro LastPass There are many password mangers on the market, many are free. Choose one that suits you best You can also use a Passphrase (See web comic below) Web Comic on password strength and passphrase: https://xkcd.com/936/ 9  What is a Passphrase? If you don’t want to use a password management tool you can use a phrase that is very familiar to you. Example (poor example, closer to a password): Phrase: I love to play badminton ILuv2PlyB@d