Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are passwords that are 7+ characters long and difficult to guess but can be remembered with out being written down.

Strong passwords...

• … are at least seven characters long.
• … are memorized.
• … have UPPERCASE letters. [A-Z]
• … have lowercase letters. [a-z]
• … have punctuation characters [" ' ; & ! @ # $ % ^ * ( ) < >]
• ... have digits [0-9]

Pretend you're making a vanity license plate that you will not let anyone see. Here are some examples to get you started. Don't use these actual passwords, however:

I8&8@RMs

I ate and ate at Rosa Maria's.

LV+$=2*fun

Las Vegas is twice the fun with money.

mY'67chEv

My 1967 Chevrolet, capital vowels)

TV187r*

Video killed the radio star.

Avoid weak passwords

Weak passwords are common and/or short. If your password can be found in the dictionary, it is a weak password. 

Appending a digit to the beginning or ending of a weak password of does not help much. Insert digits and special characters inside your password.

For more tips, please read the US-CERT Cyber Security Tip: Choosing and Protecting Passwords