One of the most important aspects of computer security is making sure you have a secure password. Even though many precautions and safeguards can be implemented to protect a network, legitimate users must still be able to easily access data and services. If a user account is compromised because of a weak or easily guessed password, many of our security defenses will be ineffective.

New KUMC-Wichita password policies require your password to be between 8 and 25 characters long, and conform to the following:

• At least one UPPERCASE letter character (A, B, C, etc.)

• At least one lowercase letter character (a, b, c, etc.)

• At least one numeric digit (1, 2, 3 etc.)

• At least one special character (_-+=)(*&^%$#@!~";':\}]{[.,><?/ etc.)

These guidelines are a minimum, but please be aware that just meeting the minimum requirements may not necessarily result in a strong password. For example, passwords such as “Jennifer1#” or “Robert3!” techincally meet the password requirements, but are not strong passwords. Instead, try substituting letters with numbers and special characters, or adding more characters to the password. For example, “J3nn!F3r” or “Mys0nr0BB!3”. In computer security this method is known as “obfuscating” a password, and can allow you to use an easy to remember password that is still considered strong.

You might also try using the first letters of words in a sentence to create a strong password. For example, “In 1st grade, I had a cat named Spot!” could give you the password “I1g,IhacnS!”, which is a very strong password, and should be easy to remember if the sentence it is based on has meaning to you.

Avoid using common words found in a dictionary for a password, as dictionary words are vulnerable to computer attack. Likewise, passwords based on words found in dictionaries (boating, computers), hobbies or sporting events (fishing, baseball), or related to holidays and events (Easter, SuperBowl) generally make poor passwords.