Password Strong

Password Strong

tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ May 10, 2015
A “Recess Rewind”…

Whenever Shannon and I sit down to work with teachers,
there are usually a maze of usernames and passwords to work through before we can begin.
More often than not, passwords become a stumbling block to a quick start and access to accounts.
We’ve shared password tips before, and this past week I shared my solution to the seemingly thousands of passwords I use when working with technology.
The response was enthusiastic, and I thought it was worth sharing again.
Let us help you be “Password Strong”!

#1.
Don’t ever check the box to save your login information on a public computer.
Even if it is in a computer lab, you don’t want to take any chance that students will be able to log in to your online grades, email, or gain access to any other sensitive personal information.

#2.
Make a strong password. Too many times we have seen “teacher” used as a password.
Pick a word that you can remember. Make sure it contains at least 8 characters.
Preferably it should be a combination of more than one word, but something that has meaning to you.
You can also pick a phrase and use the first letters of each word.

Next, exchange some of the letters in that word with symbols and numbers, such as:

  • $=S
  • @=a
  • 3=e
  • 1=i
  • 0=O

Capitalize some of the letters, or use “&” to separate words when you are using more than one word in your password.

Finally, somewhere in your password, insert a letter or an abbreviation for the account that you are using, such as a “G” if it is the password for “Google”, or “FB” if you are setting your password for “Facebook”. This unique letter(s) should be inserted in the same place for each password.

For more details included in past posts,
you can revisit:
“Password Fail?”
“Lock it Up…”

After showing one teacher,
she has added “Update all of my passwords” to her “Summer-To-Do’s” checklist.Next, throw away that long list of passwords that is always inside your Planbook on your desk.
It’s nice to eliminate one more piece of paper in your life!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of those teachers who celebrate with their children and grandchildren, their mothers and mothers-in-law, and their wives!

[Tweet “Don’t waste anymore time with forgotten passwords. Let us help you be “Password Strong” with passwords you can remember.”]

Password Fail?

tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 1-20-2013

On a public computer, 

I never, ever, ever give the browser permission to “Remember your password?”

At home?
Yes, I do.
Always.
It’s my personal computer, nobody else ever uses it,
and I simply have too many accounts and passwords to manage.

Both Shannon and I are always researching, experimenting, and opening up new accounts every single week. I wrote one post about my password dilemma on June 2011,
but I still wasn’t in a “Happy Place” regarding my own personal passwords.

Since then, though, I have found a solution that works for me.

My current password is the same,
uses symbols and upper-case letters,
and includes a unique abbreviation for the site that is attached to it.

For example, if my password was “Ging3rbr3@d”, I would add a “g” somewhere within the password for my Google account.

Works for me.

But then, you have those accounts that don’t allow characters.
(Really?)
Or they require a minimum of 13 letters.
(Sigh.)

AND…
I have a few accounts that are attached to old deleted/defunct email accounts.

Now it’s time to resort to some “know-how”.
Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to “reclaim” passwords,
or to manage them on your school/shared/public computers.

When using the FireFox browser,
follow these steps:

Firefox Step 1

 

Firefox2

Firefox Step 3For Chrome,
this is what you need to do.Chrome Step 1Chrome Step 2Chrome Step 3

For Explorer and Safari?

For security reasons, neither “shows” passwords, but you are still able to remove them.
If you have forgotten passwords set in those browsers,
you’ll have to hit the “Forgot your password?” link and hope for the best.

For Explorer:Explorer Step 1Explorer Step 2

and for Safari:Safari Step 1Safari Step 22Safari Step 3

So, on this Sunday morning,
I hope we were able to teach you something.

(Who knew?)

Find some time for yourself or to share with those you love,
read a book, take a walk and most of all,
have a great day and a great week!

Lock It Up…

email tips

Monday Morning Message ~ 6-20-2011

 

Passwords…

I have way too many,
and too many user names.

I have been thinking about how to make these all more manageable.

Here are some suggestions:

  1. Set up email accounts to handle different accounts.
    I have a gmail account for all of my “education” accounts and a YahooMail account for my “shopping”, and finally use our corporate email for everything associated with our business.
  2. I try to narrow it down to two user names whenever possible.
    If one doesn’t work, I only have one other option.
  3. Passwords:
    This week while logging on to some school networks, we were introduced to a new concept. So many password generators ask us to use both upper and lower case letters and to include numbers. Unless I use the same one that I can relate to, I have a hard time remembering these “Strong” passwords.
    Here is an idea that might help. Include numbers or symbols within a password such as “Ging3rbr3@d” if you love Christmas, for example.

     

  4. Use a password manager site or app to keep track of your private information and passwords.
    Several we know of are:

To read some reviews and more about these managers, we suggest that you visit the PC World post “Best Password Managers:Top 4 Reviewed” written by Robert L. Mitchell.

We would love to hear any comments or suggestions that might help us and our readers.