Webmaster Tips

Password Security

Please use secure passwords!

The most secure passwords are those that can't be guessed. The password should be a word which:

• can not be found in a dictionary
• is not the name of your spouse, kids, pets, etc.
• is not your address, zip code, phone number, social security number, etc.

• be at least 6 characters in length. Longer is better. (notice the difference between 7 and 8 characters in the example below)
• include both upper and lower case letters
• include numbers
• include some "special" characters, such as @#$%^&*()+=

Example: As a test, one webmaster used a password cracker (to crack Excel passwords) that checks 83,000 passwords a second on a 500MHz P3 (not including internet connection delay):

• password: monkeys --> under 5 seconds (crackers always hit the dictionary first)
• password: migyvls --> up to 26 hours (7 lower case letters)
• password: r78k3ed --> up to 10 days (7 digits of lower case letters and numbers)
• password: r78k3ed5 --> up to 360 days (8 lower case letters and numbers)
• password: t8*6j$#L --> up to 2300 years (8 characters consisting of upper and lower case letters, numbers and the 32 standard symbols)