Password security

Tips

• Use a sentence or multiple words. Focus on sentences or multiple words that you like to think about and are easy to remember. For example, “I love rock and roll 2!” or "Rock paper scissors lizard 3."
• Use separate passwords. Having separate passwords for every account helps to thwart cybercriminals. At a minimum, separate your work and personal accounts and make sure that your critical accounts have the strongest passwords.
• Use a password manager. You only need to remember one master password, which will manage and auto-fill all the others. Students, faculty, and staff have access to LastPass through Michigan Tech. It will also allow departments that have a need to share passwords within their departments.
• Use a longer password. An 8-character password can take just 8 hours to crack, a 12-character password would take 34,000 years, and a 16-character password would take 1 trillion years to crack.
• Use multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication is something that you have, such as a mobile phone or token, to go along with something that you know, such as your password.We have Duo to protect sites such as Canvas, Experience, and Banner Self Service. You can also set up 2-factor authentication for your email.
• Use a password reset method. Enter your mobile phone or set up secret questions at the Michigan Tech Account Center so you can reset your password 24/7.

Security tools and resources

If You Connect It, Protect It. Though right now we may be socially distant from others, we are more connected than ever before. Every aspect of our lives seems to be impacted by the internet—from the devices we use to chat with our friends, the apps we use to buy our groceries, and the online classrooms we use for learning. Please visit the MichiganTech Security Tools and Resources page to help protect your information and Michigan Tech.

• Computer Security and Malware Prevention
• Online Security and Privacy
• Email Security
• Identity Theft
• Regulations
• External Links
• Cyber Security Awareness