{"id":22340,"date":"2025-10-07T21:35:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T21:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/its\/?page_id=22340"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:03:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:03:22","slug":"passwords","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/its\/security\/ncsam-2025\/passwords\/","title":{"rendered":"Passwords"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Use strong passwords and a password manager<\/h4>\n

When creating a password, there are three main qualities that help make a password harder to crack, and more secure.<\/p>\n

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1. Have unique passwords<\/h5>\n

First, each password you have should be unqiue. Don’t repeat passwords or similar variations of a password between accounts or services, as this can lead to a larger-scale breach. If you have trouble keeping track of passwords, between accounts, consider using a password manager service.<\/p>\n

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\u24d8 A password manager is a service that securely stores and manages passwords for you. Many systems have built-in password managers, such as Apple’s ‘Passwords’ application, or Google’s ‘Password Manager’.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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2. Make sure your password is at least 12 characters long<\/h5>\n

Next, your password should be at least 12 characters long. The longer your password, the more protection you have against ‘brute force’ attacks, or when an attacker uses specialized software and algorithms to force their way into your account.<\/p>\n

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3. Make it complex<\/h5>\n

Finally, make sure that you’re using a diverse set of characters and symbols in your password. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and speciual characters like #, !, $, and @. These also add to the entropy and protect against brute force attacks.<\/p>\n

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How often to change your password<\/h4>\n

If your password meets all criteria for being at least 12 characters long, has diverse characters, and is unqiue between accounts, you don’t need to change your password regularly unless:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n