Security Tips: General

Password Management

• Longer passwords are more secure; try selecting passwords that are 8 characters in length.
• Change passwords periodically
• Never give a password to anyone else. This includes the system administrators, they will never need a users' password to do their job.

• Good Passwords
  • using both upper and lower case letters *
  • using numbers and/or special characters *
  • using the longest password allowed (usually 6 or 8 characters)
  • easy to remember so it doesn't need to be written anywhere.
    (* not supported on every operating system)
• Bad Passwords
  • the password matching the userid
  • the names of people, birthdates, or any personal information that may be publicly obtained.
  • words found in dictionaries (including foreign languages)
  • short passwords
  • bad passwords spelled backwards
  • simple letter substitution (ie: using '3' for 'e' or '0' for 'o')
  • any password that is written somewhere

An easy way to select a good password is to use an acronym that is easy to remember. Then mix the case and add a number or special character. "I hate all this password stuff" could result in 'Ihatps!'. Of course, this is a sample and since it's shown here it should not be used. It is no longer a secure password.

File Access

• Never set the other write permission on any file.
• Only turn on the other read or execute permission on a file if you want the file to be public readable.

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