1. Step 1

  2. Step 2

  3. Step 3

  4. Step 4

  5. Step 5

  6. Summary

Strong Passwords

Passwords are your main protection against unauthorised access to your device, account and data. Therefore, it is critical that you use a strong password.

Walk through the step-by-step guide or try the activity to create a strong password.

Steps

Step-by-step guide

Activity

Activity

Activity: Create a strong password

muffins
Password strength: Very weak Medium Fairly good Good Excellent

Step 1

Start by using a word or phrase that you will remember. For example:

muffins
Password strength: Very weak

Step 2

A password should contain at least eight characters, but increasing it to a minimum of 16 characters is recommended. The longer the password, the more secure.

Changing the word to a phrase can help you increase the password to 16 characters.

muffinsisbensmadcat
Password strength: Medium

Step 3

You can make your password stronger by adding a number or a symbol.

muffinsisbensmadcat!9
Password strength: Fairly good

Step 4

You should capitalise some letters to use a mix of upper- and lower-case letters:

muFfinsisBensmaDcaT!9
Password strength: Good

Step 5

You should capitalise some letters to use a mix of upper- and lower-case letters:

muFf1nsi%Bensm&Dc@T!9
Password strength: Excellent

Summary: Password Creation Steps

  1. 1Start with something you’ll remember
  2. 2Use at least eight characters
  3. 3Use a letters, numbers and symbols
  4. 4Use a mix of upper- and lower-case letters
  5. 5Change some letters to numbers or symbols
Secure password

  • Avoid using personal information that someone could guess from social media
  • Use a phrase to help you create a long, but memorable, password
  • Use a different password for each of your accounts