Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

A secure password and updated recovery info help protect your Google Account.

Step 1: Create a strong password

A strong password helps you:

  • Keep your personal info safe
  • Protect your emails, files, and other content
  • Prevent someone else from getting in to your account

Meet password requirements

Your password can be any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols (ASCII-standard characters only). Accents and accented characters aren't supported.

You can't use a password that:

  • Is particularly weak. Example: "password123"
  • You've used before on your account
  • Starts or ends with a blank space

Follow tips for a good password

A strong password can be memorable to you but nearly impossible for someone else to guess. Learn what makes a good password, then follow these tips to create your own.

Make your password unique

Use a different password for each of your important accounts, like your email and online banking.

Reusing passwords for important accounts is risky. If someone gets your password for one account, they could access your email, address, and even your money.

Tip: If you have trouble remembering multiple passwords, learn how to use a tool to manage your saved passwords.

Make your password longer & more memorable

Long passwords are stronger, so make your password at least 12 characters long. These tips can help you create longer passwords that are easier to remember. Try to use:

  • A lyric from a song or poem
  • A meaningful quote from a movie or speech
  • A passage from a book
  • A series of words that are meaningful to you
  • An abbreviation: Make a password from the first letter of each word in a sentence

Avoid choosing passwords that could be guessed by:

  • People who know you
  • People looking at easily accessible info (like your social media profile)

Avoid personal info & common words

Don’t use personal info

Avoid creating passwords from info that others might know or could easily find out. Examples:

  • Your nickname or initials
  • The name of your child or pet
  • Important birthdays or years
  • The name of your street
  • Numbers from your address

Don’t use common words & patterns

Avoid simple words, phrases, and patterns that are easy to guess. Examples:

  • Obvious words and phrases like "password" or "letmein"
  • Sequences like "abcd" or "1234"
  • Keyboard patterns like "qwerty" or "qazwsx"

Keep passwords secure

After you create a strong password, take steps to keep it safe.

Hide written passwords

If you need to write your password down, don’t leave it on your computer or desk. Make sure any written passwords are stored somewhere that’s secret or locked.

Manage your passwords with a tool

Step 2: Be prepared if someone gets your password

Your recovery info is used to help you in case we detect unusual activity in your account.

Add a recovery email address

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left navigation panel, click Personal info.
  3. On the Contact info panel, click Email.
  4. Click Add Recovery Email.

Add a recovery phone number

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left navigation panel, click Personal info.
  3. On the Contact info panel, click Phone.
  4. Click Add Recovery Phone.

Recovery info can be used to help you:

  • Find out if someone else is using your account
  • Take back your account if someone else knows your password
  • Get in to your account if you forget your password or can’t sign in for another reason

Make your account more secure

Get personalized advice to improve your account’s security.

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Lesson 2: Creating Strong Passwords

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Creating strong passwords

You'll need to create a password to do just about everything on the Web, from checking your email to online banking. And while it's simpler to use a short, easy-to-remember password, this can also pose serious risks to your online security. To protect yourself and your information, you'll want to use passwords that are long, strong, and difficult for someone else to guess while still keeping them relatively easy for you to remember.

Watch the video below from Safety in Canada to learn more about creating a strong password.

Why do I need a strong password?

At this point, you may be wondering, why do I even need a strong password anyway? The truth is that even though most websites are secure, there's always a small chance someone may try to access or steal your information. This is commonly known as hacking. A strong password is one of the best ways to defend your accounts and private information from hackers.

Tips for creating strong passwords

A strong password is one that's easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess. Let's take a look at some of the most important things to consider when creating a password.

  • Never use personal information such as your name, birthday, user name, or email address. This type of information is often publicly available, which makes it easier for someone to guess your password.
  • Use a longer password. Your password should be at least six characters long, although for extra security it should be even longer.
  • Don't use the same password for each account. If someone discovers your password for one account, all of your other accounts will be vulnerable.
  • Try to include numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.
  • Avoid using words that can be found in the dictionary. For example, swimming1 would be a weak password.
  • Random passwords are the strongest. If you're having trouble creating one, you can use a password generator instead.

Common password mistakes

Some of the most commonly used passwords are based on family names, hobbies, or just a simple pattern. While these types of passwords are easy to remember, they're also some of the least secure. Let's take a look at some of the most common password mistakes and how to fix them.

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

Password: brian12kate5

"I doubt anyone could guess my password! It's my kids' names and ages. Who else would know that?"

Problem: This password uses too much personal information, along with common words that could be found in the dictionary.

Solution: A stronger version of this password would use symbols, uppercase letters, and a more random order. And rather than using family names, we could combine a character from a movie with a type of food. For example, Chewbacca and pizza could become chEwbAccAp!ZZa.

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

Password: w3St!

"My password is so simple! It's just the beginning of my street address with a few extra characters."

Problem: At only five characters, this password is way too short. It also includes part of her address, which is publicly available information.

Solution: A stronger version of this password would be much longer, ideally more than 10 characters. We could also substitute a nearby street name instead of her current address. For example, Pemberly Ave could become p3MberLY%Av.

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

Password: 123abccba321

"My password follows a simple pattern, so it's easy to remember and type on my keyboard."

Problem: While patterns like this are easy to remember, they're also some of the first things a hacker might guess when attempting to access your account.

Solution: Remember that random passwords are much stronger than simple patterns. If you're having trouble creating a new password, try using a password generator instead. Here's an example of a generated password: #eV$pIg&qf.

If you use a password generator, you may also want to create a mnemonic device to make the password easier to remember. For example, H=jNp2# could be remembered as HARRY = jessica NORTH paris 2 #. This may still feel pretty random, but with a bit of practice it becomes relatively easy to memorize.

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

Password: BrAveZ!2

"I use the same passwords for all my accounts. This way, I only have to remember one password!"

Problem: There's nothing really wrong with this password, but remember that you should never use the same password with different accounts.

Solution: Create a unique password for each of your online accounts.

Using password managers

Instead of writing your passwords on paper where someone might find them, you can use a password manager to store them securely online. Password managers can remember and enter your password on different websites, which means you won't have to remember longer passwords. Examples of password managers include LastPass, 1Password, and Google Chrome's password manager.

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down?

Password: m#[email protected]$V

"I use a password generator to create all of my passwords. They're not super easy to remember, but that's OK; I also use a password manager to keep track of them."

This is a great example of a strong password. It's strong, long, and difficult for someone else to guess. It uses more than 10 characters with letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols, and includes no obvious personal information or common words. This password might even be a bit too complicated to remember without a password manager, which underscores why they're so helpful when creating a strong password.

Remember to use these tips whenever you create a password to keep your online information safe and secure.

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Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that the user no longer has to write their password down?

Which of the following is the best action to take to make remembering passwords easier so that she no longer has to write the password down? Implement end-user training.

Which of the following is the most important way to prevent console access to a network switch?

Which of the following is the most important way to prevent console access to a network switch? Disconnect the console cable when not in use.

Which of the following defines two man control?

Which of the following defines two-man control? Certain tasks should be dual-custody in nature to prevent security breach. Which of the following is a legal contract between the organization and the employee that specifies the employee is not to disclose the organization's confidential information?

What is the most common security policy failure?

The most common point of failure is a lack of user awareness of the content of the policy. Without proper user training and enforcement, even the best security policy creates a false sense of security that leaves critical assets at risk.