Is Your Password Protected? Our Tips For Creating Strong and Secure Passwords

When it is time to create or change your password, a strong and secure password is very important! Your password needs to be one that would be difficult to guess or have decoded by any possible threats. Easy-to-guess passwords are open doors for hackers and/or viruses to attack your computer and/or network. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that their password is confidential and secure. It is important to understand that all activities involving the use of your identification and password are your responsibility. Healthcare Compliance Pros offers the following recommendations in creating secure passwords.

HCP's recommends always doing the following;

Do create a password that is a minimum of 8 characters in length (HIPAA suggests 6 characters; HCP recommends a minimum of 8 characters).
o create a password that is difficult to guess.
Do use a combination of alphabetic, mixed case, numeric, and punctuation characters when creating a password.
Do vary the case of the letters. For example, "HcP06a1!"
Do change passwords frequently. Changing passwords every 90 days is a good practice.

HCP's recommends NEVER doing the following;

Don't use proper names.
Don't use words from the dictionary.
Don't use personal details such as your child's name, pet's name, a significant date, or any other personal information.
Don't create a password with a common character sequence. For example, "june2014", "12345678", etc.
Don't use common passwords. For example, don't use these; "password", "123456", "iloveyou", "qwerty", "trustno1", "password1", and "123qwer".
Don't leave passwords written down in areas that are visible and accessible to others.

If you are still using a default password, use an easy-to-guess password or if you can't remember the last time you changed your password. now is the time to change it! Keep in mind these recommendations and create a new and improved password today!