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Last modified by Chase Eckert on 2026/08/19 16:32
From version 1.1
edited by Lauren Keller
on 2019/01/22 07:51
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To version 13.1
edited by Lauren Keller
on 2019/01/24 03:20
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

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1 +=== {{id name="Good-Passwords-Are-Hard-To-Find"/}}Good Passwords Are Hard To Find ===
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3 +The best passwords are easy to remember, hard to break, and changed regularly.  This can be a problem; if a password is too difficult to remember – meaning it meets complexity requirements and is long enough to withstand attempts to crack it – it will likely wind up on a [[note in your desk drawer or taped to your monitor>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/security-and-human-factors/||shape="rect"]].
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5 +=== {{id name="How-Do-I-Choose-A-Good-Password?"/}}How Do I Choose A Good Password? ===
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7 +Arguably, the best advice comes from someone that understands how passwords are cracked; [[both are explained here>>url:https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/11/passwords_are_not_br.html||shape="rect"]].  Once you have a password, you can check how strong it is: [[this one works through your browser>>url:https://random-ize.com/how-long-to-hack-pass/||shape="rect"]] so you don't need to upload your sensitive information anywhere.  If it's good, use it and remember to change it ([[it's not as bad as it sounds>>url:https://blog.lastpass.com/2018/08/often-change-password.html/||shape="rect"]]).
8 +
9 +=== {{id name="Compromised-Accounts-And-Passwords"/}}Compromised Accounts And Passwords ===
10 +
11 +We hear about high-profile breaches; if you are affected by one of these, the parties responsible for keeping your information safe will eventually contact you and let you know what you can do about it.
12 +
13 +But [[it has been reported>>url:https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/hacked-and-dumped-online-773-million-records-with-plaintext-passwords/||shape="rect"]] that [[nearly a Billion compromised email accounts>>url:https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2019/01/17/collection-1-breach-how-to-find-out-if-your-password-has-been-stolen/#28c21b512a2e||shape="rect"]] are published online.  If you wonder whether yours is among them, head to [[';~~-~~-have i been pwned?>>url:https://haveibeenpwned.com/||shape="rect"]] and enter an email address.  If you find yours, change your password for every account that uses that email address or password.  You can also check whether [[one of your passwords has been compromised>>url:https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords||shape="rect"]] and sign up for notifications in the event a future breach or 'sensitive' data dump exposes your information.
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15 +[[image:attach:check_your_accounts.jpg||height="250"]]
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17 +=== {{id name="Why-It-Matters"/}}Why It Matters ===
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19 +The average person has about 25 online accounts and most people [[recycle their passwords>>url:https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+people+use+the+same+password+for+multiple+accounts&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS798US798&oq=how+many+people+use+the+same+password+for+multiple+accounts&aqs=chrome..69i57.9127j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8||shape="rect"]].  If you are among them, a single breach could affect all accounts using a common email address/username or password.  It doesn't matter how strong a password happens to be; if it's already online you can never use it safely.
20 +
21 +=== {{id name="What-To-Do"/}}What To Do ===
22 +
23 +Our brains can only hold so much.  [[In this survey>>url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515440/||shape="rect"]], 72% of the 263 participants had difficulty remembering their passwords.  The result, as we already know, is we reuse and write down passwords.  There are techniques for remembering passwords, but we can [[expect to need even more passwords>>url:https://techxplore.com/news/2018-12-passwords-ready.html||shape="rect"]] in the coming years.
24 +
25 +REMC1 is always looking at security; you've probably heard us mention 2-factor authentication and password managers.  Reputable password managers are available for your phone as well as your computer.  If you already use LastPass – which we recommended – they offer [[a way to verify password strength>>url:https://support.logmeininc.com/lastpass/help/use-the-security-challenge-lp030011||shape="rect"]] and see if your data has been compromised.
26 +
27 +[[image:attach:password_managers.jpg||height="250"]]
28 +
29 +=== {{id name="Questions?"/}}Questions? ===
30 +
31 +REMC1 is always looking at security and you've probably heard us mention 2-factor authentication and password managers.  High-profile breaches make the news, but it has been reported that [[there are nearly a Billion compromised accounts>>url:https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/hacked-and-dumped-online-773-million-records-with-plaintext-passwords/||shape="rect"]] that are published online and readily available.  REMC staff are happy to answer any questions you have on potential spoofing, viruses, malware and security.
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35 +[[image:attach:digital-guardian-password-security-infographic.png||thumbnail="true" height="250"]]
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