Passphrase Management
Proper management of your account passwords/passphrases is key to the security of your information and your online security. As such, it is important to learn how to keep your information secure with a strong passphrase.
Why "passphrase" instead of password?
A passphrase is more secure than a password because it contains more than a single dictionary word.
How do I choose a strong password?
For starters, create a passphrase instead of a password by picking an easy-to-remember sentence. For example, Where Is My C0ffee?. This contains uppercase letters, lowercase letters, a number, a substitution, spaces and unique characters!
To make your passphrase even stronger, try using the starting letters of each word in the phrase, and alternate between uppercase and lowercase. Or try using words from multiple languages. Get creative with it!
What is the reason for having multiple unique passphrasses?
If your passphrase is the same for two separate accounts, a hacker only needs to compromise one in order to gain access to both. Since you will often use the same email address to log into multiple services, hackers will try your email and password combination on all of the most commonly used services (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Amazon).
Accounts such as your UVic or bank accounts, contains sensitive information (grades, financial information, SIN, tax information, etc.). As such, it is that much more important that the passphrases for these accounts be unique from others, such as your social media accounts.
Why does passphrase length matter?
The longer the passphrase, the harder it is to crack!
