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Read about LCU's upcoming changes to internet banking password requirements as well as our own personal tips and tricks for setting a password that is both strong and memorable for your account.  

This comic was made back in August of 2011 by the creator of xkcd comics (https://xkcd.com/936/) and it’s still very true right now in 2019.

 

You may feel like a phrase is going to be even harder to remember but don’t despair. It’s easier than you think. A “random phrase” doesn’t have to be random for you. 

With our upcoming changes to the password requirements for Internet Banking you will soon need to use:

  • A minimum of 8 characters and a maximum of 39
  • And at least 3 of the following 4 character sets:
  1. One uppercase letter
  2. one lowercase letter
  3. a number
  4. a special character (excluding ` ^ & < > ” and ‘)
  • And finally you must not have more than 5 repeated characters, consecutive or otherwise.

That means you’ll have a lot more options when it comes to keeping your account as secure as possible. For example you could choose something like:

Inever4getanypasswords)?94567

An easy way to commit that to memory? I never fourget any passwords Right Bracket? Usual Number

The more characters, the better.

Now I know I’m pushing my luck by referencing all my favourite childhood comics, but there’s just one last very pertinent one that you should read regarding duplicate passwords. (https://xkcd.com/792/)

When hackers complete large-scale attacks, as they have done with popular email servers and many other online services, the lists of compromised email addresses and passwords are usually leaked online. If your account is compromised and you use this email address and password combination across multiple sites, your information can easily be used to get into any of these other accounts. That means you need to use unique passwords for everything.

Some handy tips to help you with this:

Come up with a word to tack on to the end of your password based on the service it is for. (You can even write these down as without the phrase that mkes up the main part of your password - this information is useless) 

For example, let’s take the password example we chose above and repurpose it for some different websites:

Service

Password

Facebook

“Inever4getanypasswords)?94567bookface

Twitter

“Inever4getanypasswords)?94567twit

Online banking

“Inever4getanypasswords)?94567money

 

When you get notice from a service that they have had a security breach – change your passwords – including the phrase that makes up the main part of it.  

If you want to learn more, the seminars for LCU members we are planning will include a section on good password habits. Please contact LCU to advise your interest.

PS. If anyone can honestly say they’ve forgotten “correct horse battery staple” (from the initial comic) then it might be time to try a password manager instead.

Some reputable choices can be found by googling “best password manager” then scrolling past the first four or so links which are Ads and finding an article by a review service like Techradar, Digital Trends, PC Mag or CNET and reading about the pros and cons of the different password managers available.

Enquire Call 02 9859 0585