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Passwords

You should have recently changed your Mail settings to use SSL encoding.  This wil help security but you also need to consider your passwords.

A good password is very important when it comes to today's technology. Hackers, spammers and thieves are always trying to compromise our passwords in order to gain access to data they shouldn't have. The hackers, spammers and thieves have several ways to get your password. Here are a few:

  • They use social engineering to convince us to send it to them. This is why we have told you to NEVER give out your passwords to ANYONE.
  • They use today's technology to 'brute force' your account by trying password after password to gain access.
  • They manipulate the network so they can 'watch' the information going across it. If you connect to a non-secure service and provide a password, they actually will see your password (now you are compromised).
  • They compromise the server that has your account on it and use tools to compromise the hashed passwords they find on the server.


    • You should not use the same password for multiple services. For example, your district email password should not be the same password you use for your gradebook password and so on.

    These passwords should be difficult passwords. The days of using your son's name with a number at the end are over. These types of passwords just won't work against the hackers, spammers and thieves out there.

    You should use passwords that have upper case AND lower case letters AND number(s) AND special characters. Increase security by putting the numbers and special characters in the middle of the password.  Changing s to 5 and e to 3  and other old-fashioned tricks will not create enought security.   A strong password should not contain words found in a dictionary or phrases found on the internet.  
    The longer and more complex a password is, the longer it takes to hack. See this website and accompanying article.  "How Big is Your Haystack?"  
    Don't read the sources found at the end of the article if you want to resist changing all your passwords.  The analysis of those articles could scare you into doing it!
    Another good read, though not as long, is "How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away"