Tech Tips: Choose a New Password

January 7, 2020

You need to change your password.

That’s right, the start of a new year is a great time to review your IT security and change your Duke password. Here are three ways to create strong passwords.

Use LastPass – LastPass is the single best tool for protecting your online activities.
- Use LastPass to generate a strong password for you.
Pick a song lyric and use that.
- Take the first letter of each word from the first couple of lines
  - I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain, that’s what people say, mm mm
  - 1s02l-Gn1mb-Twpsmm
  - Substitute a couple of the letters with numbers and use a dash for the commas
- When it’s time to change your password, take the next two lines and repeat
- Bonus points for a good earworm
Create a base password and version it.
- Put together 12 random letters, numbers and special characters – memorize it
  - C7qrp2&YgnxJ
- Change your password by adding a version number to it
  - C7qrp2&YgnxJ2-3

For passwords, remember that length is more secure than complexity. Use > 10 characters.

Want to see if you’ve selected a strong password? Check it here.