Welcome to Password Safety, You, & NSU.
In this video we are going to discuss the creation of a strong password, protecting
your password, and how to change your password.
If I ask you "What is more secure, a password or a biometric scan like a fingerprint reader?"
What would you say?
If you said password, you would be right.
There are YouTube videos that show how to defeat biometrics in 15 minutes.
The old fashioned low tech password is your best digital defense.
However, this means we all need to know how to create a strong password.
Passwords need to have four elements to be strong: upper and lower case letters, numbers,
symbols, and a length of at least ten characters.
You do not want to use plain English words straight from a dictionary.
Hackers have programs that scan for dictionary words in very little time.
Make words hard for hackers to decrypt by changing them in creative ways that are easy
for you to remember.
Here are some examples.
Create becomes capital C, lower case r the number 3 the @ symbol lower case t and the
number 3.
Think about visual similarities that could make it easy for you to change letters into
numbers, symbols, and punctuation.
Upper case A could be the number 4, Lower case a becomes an @ (at) symbol,
Upper case E becomes the number 3, Upper case G could be the number 6, lower
case t converts to the + (plus sign), And the letter S could be the $ (dollar sign).
Converting letters to numbers and symbols goes a long way to making your password more
secure.
These are just a few suggestions to get you started, have fun and create your own password
code.
Changing a phrase into a memorable password is easy.
Let's put the phrase "Four score and seven years ago" from the Gettysburg Address into
the password format.
Four will be the number 4 Score will become Capital S, lower case k
and o, and upper case R The word and will be replaced by the & symbol
We will use the number 7 for the word seven Years will be turned into the lower case abbreviation
yrs And ago will be changed to the @ symbol and
the lower case letters go.
What about length?
Here you see two password strength meters.
The one on the left is The Password Meter and on the right is How Secure Is My Password.
You may find links to both on the ITS Password Safety web page.
The Password Meter reflects the strength of a password in a percentage format and you
may see the criteria used to score below.
How Secure Is My Password uses time to score a password.
The time is how long it would take a home based non-professional hacker to decrypt your
password.
Now, watch how the length effects a passwords effectiveness as I enter this phrase into
both meters.
Let's start with 4SkoR in each meter to compare how the percentage compares to the
time to hack.
This gets us to 34% or 23 milliseconds with five characters.
Now lets add the & symbol and 7.
This brings the strength to 62% or 7 minutes.
This is not even close to being a strong password.
Let's bring this to the minimum of ten characters by adding yrs.
This only brings us to 88% or 6 years.
Now let's add the @ symbol and the go.
Excellent, this brings the strength to 100% and 3 million years.
ITS asks you to change your password twice a year.
If you are protecting your password, six months is nothing compared to 3 million years.
Now you see why length is important and you have the skills to create your strong password.
So, how do you change your password?
It is a very easy process.
You will need to go to the Password Manager website.
Here are three ways to access the Password Manager.
Choose which is best for you and go create your new password.
First, you may get to the site by using the Global Navigation Bar, that's the dark green
bar at the top of any NSU web page, and clicking on the MY NSU link.
When the page opens scroll down and you will see a large green button that links to Password
Manager.
Second, if you are in goNSU there is a link in the Quick Links box on the right side of
the screen.
Third, there is a link to Password Manager on the ITS Service Desk webpage.
When you go to the PassWord Manage you will need to provide your Banner ID, that is your
N number on you NSU GreenCard, or your Social Security number.
You will also need you birthday and last name.
Then type in the code in the box below your name to prove that you are a person and not a bot.
Click on the Next button and you be directed to change your password.
NSU's Password Manager only accepts certain symbols and punctuation so be prepared to
change your phrase to meet those criteria.
ITS will never publish the accepted symbols because that would not be a good security
practice.
Now that you have your new strong password, how do you protect your password?
Never share your password with anyone.
This includes co-workers, work-study students, friends, and in emails or phone calls soliciting
your personal information.
Change your password if you think there is even a chance it has been compromised.
Use a unique password for every account.
If your passwords are the same or similar it is easy for hackers to gain access to all
of your accounts.
Thwart them with every keystroke!
LastPass is a proven reputable company that provides a cloud based digital vault to store
your passwords and fill them in when you need to sign-in to your different accounts.
This means you only need to remember one strong master password and LastPass will remembers
the rest.
They offer both free and paid accounts.
If you are interested in this you may go to lastpass.com.
Select the How It Works link and choose from the options of In the Browser or On my Device
to learn more based on your needs.
You will see a Red button in the top right section of the screen that says Get LastPass
Free if you think that would work well for you.
Please remember that there is a Password Safety page on the ITS website under the Cyber Security
tab.
You may refer to that page to refresh on this information and see any new tips throughout
the year.
Thank You for taking the time to make and protect yourself and NSU with a strong password.
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