How to Make a Strong Password

How to make a strong password for extra security on your Mambo web site.

To maximise the security of your account create unique passwords containing at least eight random alphanumeric characters or symbols, and alternate between upper and lower case letters (eg. 5zKxl8*q). The longer and more complex the password, the more difficult it is to attack with a brute-force search. Avoid using actual dictionary words and never use personal information such as names, birthdays, etc. Even words spelt backwards, foreign language words, and sms-style txt words, are unsafe to use these days.

Avoid using the same password for different logins on your own domain (your account, MySQL databases, message boards etc).

The easiest way to create a strong password that you won't have to write down is to come up with a passphrase. A passphrase is a sentence that you can remember, like "My son Aiden is three years older than my daughter Anna." You can make a pretty strong password by using the first letter of each word of the sentence. For example, msaityotmda. However, you can make this password even stronger by using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that look like letters. For example, using the same memorable sentence and a few tricks, your password is now M$8ni3y0tmd@.

If you still think that's too hard to remember, you could try a more common phrase, such as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." If you're using a common phrase make sure to inject at least one number or symbol into the password. Such as U(t@0DnT.

One thing to keep in mind when you create a new password is that you can use almost any combination of letters, numbers and symbols that you like, BUT do not use the dollar sign. In most programming languages '$' is interpreted as a string. The use of this is particularly problematic in MySQL so it is strongly advised not to use the string symbol $ in any passwords.

Keeping your passwords safe means keeping them a secret. If you allow your kids to access your computer please keep in mind that setting up automatic logins to your site through your browser could have unintended consequences.