How to Make a Strong Password

At Towson, your password gives you access to a number of resources: e-mail; network drives; and PeopleSoft information, like grades, financial data, grades, timesheets and personal records. Without a strong password, hackers might not only crack into this personal information, but they could also use your account to attack other computers, making the entire network vulnerable.

Although Towson's password requirements have been designed to resist hackers, follow these tips to create a stronger password:

• Make your password easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to guess
• Use numbers or symbols to replace letters in a word: "Great" could be "Gr8" or "Sand" could be "S&"
• Pick single letters from a favorite word or phrase and add some creative punctuation: "Meet Me in St. Louis" could become "mmiSt.Ls!"
• Use phonetic spelling to disguise a word: "photograph" could be "fotograf"
• Convert personal information into a nonsensical password. You could use your favorite teacher, your first date, your first pet, etc. Your second grade teacher named Mrs. Meadow could make this password: "Mrs.MeadO.2gr"

For more tips about passwords, go to http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/training/july_2002.htm.