Password guidance

Watch Me Think’s simple admonitions for young and old alike :)

Choosing reasonable passwords

Even where it isn’t enforced, your passwords should always have:

• More than 8 characters.
• A combination of letters - upper and lower case - and numbers, and ideally some special character or other.

It goes without saying that one password should not rule them all. If you’re overloaded, don’t reuse passwords, and don’t write any down and save them in passwords.docx: use some software.

And here come the facepalms

Don’t use - and this includes combination no-no’s:

• Obvious names
• Your name or nickname, in any form or order, in whole or in part
• Common names - any Tom, Dick or Harry
• Your dog Buster’s name
• A celeb’s name - real, fictional or private fantasy

• Obvious numbers
• Your landline, mobile or office number, or your house number
• Your birthday or anniversary
• Your car licence plate
• Your social security or any other ID number

• Obvious words
• Acronyms
• Locations
• Product names, or indeed agencies like watchmethink
• Technical terms

• Obvious words where you think you’re being really clever
• Words or phrases where you delete the vowels or white spaces
• One dictionary word preceded or followed by a digit or one of ?!$%
• Any dictionary word or obvious name or word reversed or pluralised or with some or all letters capitalised or with obvious substitutions - the “B1gg1e_5m4ll5 move”