Password Hints
Strong Password Rules
Your password must follow these 7 rules:
1) Your password must be between 8 and 30 characters.
2) Your password must contain at least one uppercase, or capital, letter (ex: A, B, etc.)
3) Your password must contain at least one lowercase letter.
4) Your password must contain at least one number digit (ex: 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.)
5) Your password must contain at least one special character -for example: $, #, @, !,%,^,&,*,(,) - mainly the
special characters are located on the top row of the keyboard on the same line as the numbers 0 through 9.
6) You cannot include within your password any words of four characters or more that might be found in a
dictionary (“dictionary words”). For example, you cannot use the word “book” in your password, but you can
use“b00k” instead (using zeroes instead of the letter “o”). However a three letter sequence that just happened
to spell a dictionary word - such as the “cat” in Dcatt467! - would be accepted.
7) Must have at least four different characters (letters, numbers, symbols) in your new password that were not
found in your previous password. For example, if your previous password was Kattas#04 and if your new
proposed password was Kattas#05, such would be rejected since there are not four different characters in your
proposed new password. Similarly, if your old password was Abcd1359! and your proposed new password was
Catt1234! such would not be allowed either because only three characters are different in the proposed new
password (t 2 4). But Catt2468! versus Cat3579!t would be accepted because the new password has four
different characters not found anywhere in the old password ( 3 5 7 9).
User Friendly Suggestions for Creating a Strong Password
Trying to develop an acceptably strong password “from scratch” can be very frustrating. Then trying to remember such
a password can be difficult as well. However, there are several hints, tips, and mnemonics that can help you create a
strong password easily – and one that you are more likely to remember. Basically, try to create a “pass phrase” using the
first letters (or slightly modified letters) for words in the following phrase categories. Then add a number and a special
character. An abbreviated list of possibilities for generating pass phrases is below, followed by various examples in each
of these categories.
Historical Phrases Funny Phrases
Proverbs or Popular Culture Phrases Advertising Jingles and Phrases
Song Lyrics Television Theme Songs
Nursery Rhymes Restaurant Menu Items
Languages Other Than English Pig Latin
Sports Scores Submit your suggestions, tips, tricks
Historical Phrases
We hold these truths to be self-evident
Whtttbse#1
Four score and seven years ago
4Skorn7ya!
Funny Phrases
I can’t believe they make me do this freaking password stuff
Icbtmmdtfpws#@1
Old enough to remember when Pluto was a planet
Oetrwpwap@1
This program is about to exceed the limits of my medication
Tpiatetlomm$77
You probably don’t recognize me without my cape
Updrmwomc#1
Proverbs or Popular Culture Phrases
A penny saved is a penny earned
Apsiape$399
Keep calm and carry on
Kcaco#100
Advertising Jingles and Phrases
I can’t believe I ate the whole thing
Icbi8twt#11
You ate it Ralph
U8iralf!!
Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is
Ppffowarit@4
Earl Scheib will paint any car any color for just $99
Eswpacacfj$99
Song Lyrics
Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away
Yamtssfa#33
Then when the next password change comes around in 60 days, use the next lyric in the song
Now it looks like they are here to stay
Nilltahts#55
When a man loves a woman
Wamlaw$2
May you stay forever young
Mus4ey#1
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
Ucgatuwaar@1
Television Theme Songs
Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
CaltasaamnJ#1
Then when the next password change comes around in 60 days, use the next lyric
Nursery Rhymes
Mary had a little lamb
Mhall#100
Then next 60 days, use the next line
Its fleece was white as snow
Ifwwas!200
Restaurant Menu Items
Combo Plate Special #2 at San Jose’s Mexican restaurant
Cps#2@SJmr
Other Languages
Poor little one (female) Spanish
Pobrecita!2
I’m hungry (Spanish)
Tengohambre%1
I’m tired
Estoycansada#1
The more things change… (French, phonetic)
PloosaShahnz@1
Pig Latin
I love you
Iwayovelayouyay!1
Sports Scores
Super Bowl XLVII Baltimore Ravens 34 San Francisco 31
sbXLVIIBr34Sf31!
sb2013Br34Sf31!
Password strength testers
http://www.passwordmeter.com/
http://rumkin.com/tools/password/passchk.php
http://www.testyourpassword.com/
https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx
