Service Overview
Your password is the first line of protection for your accounts. It not only protects your email and stored files from being accessed by others, but also prevents others from sending email in your name. Do not give your passwords to anyone and do not write them down in a place others could find.
Password Best Practices
What makes a password strong?
- Length: Each additional character in a password makes it stronger.
- A pass phrase is one easy way to add length while still keeping a password easy to remember.
- Several random words strung together or a phrase that is unique to yourself make for a good, long password.
- Different Character Types: Each time you use a character of a different type it makes your password stronger:
- Lower Case Letters: a, b, c, d ...
- Upper Case Letters: A, B, C, D ...
- Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3 ...
- Special Characters: !, @, #, $ ...
- Uniqueness: Don't use the same password for multiple systems such as both HCC and your Facebook account.
- By making your passwords unique, you prevent someone who has hacked one account from hacking all your accounts that use the same password.
- Randomness: The more random a password the less likely it is to be "guessed".
- For example using, "1234567" or "1111111" as part of a password isn't very random.
- By contrast, "8675309" has the same length and character types, but is a much harder part of a password to "crack".
Keep Passwords Safe
When it comes to protecting online information, good password techniques are cornerstone. A good password is both a function of password strength, and user practice.
- Don't write them down.
- Keep it secret, keep it safe. Don't share it with others.
- Don't use the same password for multiple accounts.
Organizations should never ask for your passwords. There is no "technical" reason to disclose them, so don't! Be very suspicious of anyone who asks.
Browsers
Be cautious when allowing browsers to save your credentials. You should not save passwords in the browser on a shared computer. Doing so could expose your password to unknown users.