Passwords are your first and in some cases, only line of defense in the online world. Utmost care should be taken to protect passwords from falling into the wrong hands. If it does, it could wreak havoc on your personal, professional and financial life. But, not to worry, we’ve got a few tips which we feel will help protect you, your computer and online accounts from unauthorized users. 

1. Length: It is recommended that passwords are at the least, 8 characters long. Want to know how long it would take to crack your password? Go to  http://www.howsecureismypassword.net/ and type in your password
2. Passphrase: Long passwords with a string of random characters might get difficult to remember. Instead, consider using passphrases. Passphrases contain multiple words that create a phrase. For example, “FolloWTheEagle” is a passphrase that might be easier to remember than say, “#FGcteg$%^”. This also helps prevent the urge to write down your password on a sticky note attached to your monitor
3. Check the strength: Use Microsoft’s online tool to check the complexity and strength of your password. You can access the tool here: https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx
4. Security questions: Websites these days ask you to answer a security question in case you forget your password. Don’t use easy answers such as birthdays, names, etc. Hackers can guess these easily.
5. Change your passwords regularly, once every 60 days
6. Different passwords: Create a different password for each account. i.e. different passwords for you Facebook, Twitter and bank account. The reason being, if someone hacks into your twitter account, you don’t want the hacker to use the same password to gain access to your bank.
7. Log out: Always remember to log out/sign out of a website and close the browser
8. Store your passwords: No, not on a sticky note under your keyboard. Instead use password management software. You can store all your passwords securely on your PC or Mac using this software. There are free applications available, try keepass (www.keypass.info)

 For FGCU faculty and Staff, your password must meet the following requirements:

• Your password needs to contain a minimum of 15 characters
• No special characters are required
• Change your password every 60 days
• You cannot reuse the last 11 passwords 
• There is a 30 min lockout period after 3 failed login attempts 

Note: Cognos does not allow users to have a space in their password. If you use Cognos, do not put a space in your password!

 Banner Users

 Please follow the following rules when setting your password:

1. Passwords will expire every 180 days
2. Must not contain your username
3. Must not be based solely on dictionary words
4. Must be at least eight (8) characters in length
5. Must differ from previous passwords
6. Must contain 3 of the 4 following categories: 

• English uppercase letters (A-Z)
• English lowercase letters (a-z)
• Number (0-9)
• Special characters (e.g., ! % : _ - +  ? *)

The following special characters will not work in Banner:

Character         Key combination

^                      SHIFT + 6
 }                   (braces)              
|                      SHIFT + \
\ or /               (forward or backslash)
.                      (period)
[  ]                  (brackets)

Reserved characters:   @ $ & " ( ) , < > ` ; = # or a space