Tag Archive for: password strength

Show your school spirit – but NOT in your password!

It’s great to be a loyal fan or follower of your school’s team, but the one thing you don’t want to do is use your team name as your password!  If you’re a UNC student or grad, and you’re using “tarheels” (or any variant thereof) as your password, change it now.  It’s insecure on many, many levels.  First, it’s a word in the dictionary.  Second, it’s too weak.  Be creative when choosing a password, and make sure it’s secure.  Your online accounts will be at risk of being compromised until you change your password!

What could you use instead?  If you really must use the word “tarheels” in your password, change it to a passphrase that will be easy enough for you to remember, but difficult to guess or crack.

For example, “I_love_my_Tarheels!” is probably something you can remember, and it’s way more secure than just “tarheels.”

Use a tool like this password strength checker to find out how secure your password is.  If the result is anything other than VERY STRONG, please change it!

Password Strength

http://www.passwordmeter.com/