PASSWORDS

Using Safe Passwords

Stay Cybersafe with Strong Passwords

Protect Houston Methodist and Your Personal Accounts

• If you’re using passwords that hackers can easily guess, or if you’re using the same passwords for multiple apps, you’re opening the door for attackers.

• If someone hacks your LinkedIn password, and you use the same one for banking and other online accounts, cybercriminals can access those accounts as well.

• Here are requirements for your Houston Methodist password, as well as instructions for changing your password.

Avoid Common Passwords

These frequently used passwords include sports, cars and common sayings. This makes your password much easier to hack – often within two seconds.

If any of these passwords look familiar, unfortunately, your accounts are some of the easiest for cybercriminals to hack.

Popular passwords to avoid:

• Football, baseball, soccer, hockey, golfer, Lakers, Rangers, Yankees

• Mercedes, Corvette, Ferrari, Harley

• Iloveyou, letmein, trustno1, whatever, blahblah

Many names also make the most commonly used list. Here are examples of just a few:

• Robert, Matthew, Jordan, Daniel, Andrew, Andrea, Joshua, George, Nicole and Hunter

Top 10 passwords found on the dark web:

Resources

• Passwords are Reused 64% of the Time

• How Hackers Get Your Passwords and How To Defend Yourself

• Use Passwords Over 20-Characters Long

• Use a Password Manager 

  • Password managers create perfectly random passwords.

  • A perfectly random 12-character or longer password cannot be guessed at or cracked by any known method.

  • These random, secure passwords can be different for every application and online account.

Passphrases Make Good Passwords

Passphrases make good passwords because they’re harder for hackers to guess. Even if the phrase is a simple one, the number of letters and characters makes the password much longer. Passphrases also can have the benefit of being easy to remember.

Examples of strong passphrases include:

• Iwentto7-11earliertoday

• Rogerjumpedoverthepurplefox

• 2believingtherockandrolllifeforever