You might have password security problems if:
Your password is on a yellow sticky note on your monitor.
Your password is your child’s name, your dog’s name, your OWN name.
Your password is known by anyone on your staff who wants to log in.
Most of the time, we pick a password that we can remember. Honestly, that’s the biggest problem -- you can’t remember your password, so you write it down. But writing down your password is like writing your PIN number on your ATM card – pretty useless for security purposes.
I can’t tell you what the uncrackable password is – if I could the CIA might want to talk to me. However, I can give you some guidelines to help you through some of the more common mistakes we make when choosing passwords.
Don’t write them down. Don’t keep a list of passwords for your staff. If you lose your password, you can just call us and we’ll reset it for you. By keeping a written log of passwords, you take the change that the list will fall into the wrong hands.
Don’t let people share log-ins. Each person who logs into your database should have their own log-in and password. Anytime a password is shared, even with someone you trust, you run the risk of accidentally sharing it with someone you don’t trust.
Pick a unique password with a combination of numbers and letters and easy for you to remember. 1111, 1234, and LOVE are not unique passwords.
Go for 6-8 characters in length. Shorter passwords are easier to crack.
Okay, so you’ve read the list and now, you want to change your password.
Go to the System menu.
Select My Account.
Review your account information. Change the password.
Type it again.
Save changes.
Now, shhhhh! It’s a secret!