Loading
Print This Issue
Subscribe:
E-Almanac

One Step Ahead
PDF
April 13, 2010, Volume 56, No. 29

One Step Ahead

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy.

Make Sure Your PennKey
Password Meets Current Rules

An important way you can protect yourself from electronic crime is by having a strong PennKey password. If you haven’t changed your PennKey password in a while (or ever) you may want to do it now. The rules for selecting a strong PennKey password have changed over the years, so your current password may not be in line with the current recommendations.

A strong password should be as long—at least 8 characters—and complex as you can remember, and not be easily guessable by someone who knows you. A good way to create a strong but memorable password is to select a phrase that means something to you, but isn’t well-known. For example, consider the phrase “Orange elephants invade Alaska; film at eleven.” Pick the first letter of each word (OeiAfae) and add some punctuation (OeiA;f@e).

This password meets the current PennKey password selection rules that require a mix of upper- and lower-case characters, not being derived from a dictionary word (in any language), and not containing a username, PennID, or name.
To change your password, go to: https://weblogin.pennkey.upenn.edu/changepassword

____________________________________

To receive OneStepAhead  tips via email, send email to listserv@lists.upenn.edu with the following text in the body of the message:  sub one-step-ahead <your name>.

For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: www.upenn.edu/computing/security/

Almanac - April 13, 2010, Volume 56, No. 29