Passwords provide the first line of defence in computer systems and must be considered one of the top elements to protect and secure. They offer the main access control mechanism in computers and with some good security practices can provide a big obstacle to intruders.

Following are some best security practices for using on your computer passwords:

• Use at least 8 characters.
• Use both alphabetic and numeric characters together with special letters (such as !@%$ etc).
• Don’t use consecutive letters (e.g abcd123 is not a strong password).
• Use PassPub.com for generating a random strong password.
• Try to use a phrase as a password instead of just a word.
• Don’t use passwords that can be found in dictionaries, or passwords that are dates or names of people.
• Change your password at least once a month.
• Don’t use the same password in two different accounts.
• Don’t use the “Remember Password” feature found in various accounts.
• Don’t send your password anywhere in clear text format (e.g in an email).

If you follow the above best practices you can be sure that you are in the right path to provide a strong access control for your computer system.