Are Your Passwords Secure?

Why is password security important?

You'll need to create a password to do just about everything on the internet, from checking your email to signing into your gaming account to logging into your social media accounts.

Passwords provide the first line of defence against unauthorized access to your computer and personal information. So the stronger your password, the more protected your computer and your personal information will be from hackers and malicious software.

So what does a strong password look like?

Let’s look at some examples, and how long it would take malicious software to crack.

This is just one example of how following a few simple rules, and avoiding some common mistakes, you can ensure your personal information is kept safe.

How to create a strong password…

• Use three random words with some capital letters included. Not only does this make it near impossible to crack, the more random the words are, the easier it can be for you to remember.

• For extra security, consider adding symbols and numbers.

Using the above example of DwarfTableSchool, if you were to add a number and a symbol to the end of it, making at DwarfTableSchool1! it is then estimated it would take

7 TRILLION years to crack.

• Do not use personal information like your name, address or telephone number as these pieces of information can be easily found.

• Do not be tempted to use the same password for everything. We know it can be hard to remember all your passwords but using the same password for everything is a big risk!

If you forget it, you could be locked out of lots of your favourite sites and apps. But worse still if someone else guesses it, they could get into all your accounts.

• Do not share your passwords with anyone.

So, how secure do you think your existing passwords are?

Well, there is a safe, secure way of finding out.

Visit the below web site, enter your password, and it will give you an estimate on how long it would take a computer to crack it.

Finally, please remember that should you have any concerns about any of these weekly e-safety tips or anything you or your child see online, please do not hesitate to speak to either your child’s teacher or a member of the Moorcroft Wood management team.