Choosing a password you'll actually remember

A long password you can remember beats a short complicated one you have to write down.

Length matters most

Use at least 12 characters, with upper and lower case letters, a number, and a symbol. Beyond meeting those requirements, the single thing that makes a password hard to break is how long it is.

Try a phrase instead of a word

Four unrelated words strung together are easier to remember than a scrambled word, and much harder to guess. Add a number and a symbol and you've met every requirement.

Pick words that don't connect to each other, and don't use a phrase anyone could find on your social media.

Don't reuse it

Your BSC email password should be different from your Populi password, and both should be different from anything you use for social media, banking, or shopping.

Reused passwords are how one stolen account turns into five. When a company you signed up with years ago gets breached, that password gets tried everywhere else.

What to avoid

• Barber-Scotia, Sabers, or anything else tied to the College
• Your name, birthday, student ID, or phone number
• A previous password with one number changed at the end
• Anything you've used on another account

Let your phone remember it

iPhone and Android both have a built-in password manager that stores passwords securely and fills them in for you. Using one means you can have a different long password for every account without memorizing any of them.

Saving a password in your phone or browser is far safer than reusing one you can remember.

Where not to keep it

Not in a note on your phone, not in a text to yourself, not on paper in your bag, and not shared with a friend or roommate. Messages sent from your account are treated as coming from you, including anything submitted to a professor.