Advice on Choosing a Password

Your password can include almost any character that you can type. The main exceptions are the Control keys and the Return key. A good password is a password that you can remember readily, but no one else can easily guess. Examples of bad passwords include the following:

• Words that can be found in a dictionary

• Any common or popular name

• The name of a famous person or character

• Your name or user name in any form (for example: your name spelled backward, repeated twice, and so forth)

• A spouse's name, child's name, or pet's name

• Your birth date or a relative's birth date

• Your social security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifying number

• Any sample password that appears in this manual or any other manual

A good password is at least eight characters long. Moreover, a password should include a mix of characters, such as uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. Examples of passwords that would be good if they didn't appear in this manual include the following:

• Acronyms, such as “I2LMHinSF” (which is recalled as “I too left my heart in San Francisco”)

• Easy-to-pronounce nonsense words, such as “WumpaBun” or “WangDangdoodle!”

• Deliberately misspelled phrases, such as “6o'cluck” or “RrriotGrrrlsRrrule!”

Don't use these examples. Passwords that appear in manuals are the first passwords that an intruder will try.