Advice on Choosing a Password

Your password can include almost any character you can type (the main exceptions being control keys and the Return key). A good password is one that you can remember readily, but which no one else can easily guess. Examples of bad passwords include:

• Words that can be found in a dictionary

• Any common or popular name

• The name of a famous person or character

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

• A spouse's, child's, or pet's name

• Your birth date or a relative's birth date

• Your Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, or similar identifying number

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

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

• Acronyms, such as "I2LMHinSF" (recalled as "I too left my heart in San Francisco")

• Easy-to-pronounce nonsense words, like "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 ones an intruder will try.