Protecting Your Passwords

Passwords are used just about everywhere, to protect just about everything. Follow the tips below to make sure that your use of passwords is secure. 

Picking a strong New School password 

Hackers use special programs called password crackers to try to guess users' passwords. To defend against these tools, it's important to choose a strong password. Passwords used to access New School systems and applications: 

  • Must be at least 8 characters long (10 or 12 characters is better) 

  • Must contain characters from at least three of the following categories: 

  • Uppercase letters: A through Z 

  • Lowercase letters: a through z 

  • Base 10 digits: 0 through 9 

  • Non-alphanumeric characters: ~!@#$%^&*_-+=`|\(){}[]:;"'<>,.?/ 

  • Must not contain your NetID 

  • Must not contain elements of your full name 

  • Must not be the same as any of your last seven passwords 

  • Avoid choosing things that are easily discovered about you like names of relatives or pets, names of streets or towns where you've lived, names of schools you've attended, names of favorite sports teams, names of favorite musical groups, etc. 

  • Use different passwords for different accounts 

  • Do not use your New School password on any non-New School sites 

  • If you are a Banner user, do not use your regular New School password for your Banner account 

  • Use different passwords for work and personal email accounts 

  • Use a different password for each of your online banking and credit card sites, and don’t use those passwords for anything else 

  • Use a different password for each of your online shopping sites (or other sites that have credit card or bank account information on file) 

One popular method for choosing a strong password that meets the above requirements is as follows: 

  1. Think of a line or two from a favorite song or a poem, and use the first letter of each word. 

  1. Use numbers to replace a couple of letters: '1' looks like an 'I', '2' looks like a 'Z', '3' looks like a backward 'E', '4' looks like an uppercase 'A', '5' looks like an 'S', '6' looks like a lowercase 'b', '7' looks like an upside-down 'L', '9' looks like a lowercase 'g', and '0' looks like an 'O'. 

  1. Add a punctuation character somewhere. 

Example: In Step 1, "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener" becomes "IwIwaOMw". In Step 2, we can replace an 'I' with a '1' and the 'O' with a '0' to get "Iw1wa0Mw". Finally, in step 3, we add an exclamation point to get our final password, "Iw1wa0Mw!". 

Remembering your passwords 

  • Never write passwords down 

  • Do not store passwords in a file on your computer 

  • Do not store passwords in a “note” on your smartphone 

  • Avoid web browser password saving features 

  • Use a password manager application like: 

Note: The list above is provided for your convenience only; The New School does not endorse or provide support for any of the products listed. 

Sharing your passwords 

  • Never share your password with others even if they claim to be from the New School, your Internet service provider, your bank or your insurance company. 

  • The New School Information resource Acceptable Use Policy prohibits sharing your New School system and application passwords with anyone else. 

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