How to create a strong password

... and why this is important. Here’s few hints for families looking to lock up online effectively. 

It’s pretty common for young people to have the same password for the many different apps and games on their devices. While it might seem like a good idea at first because it’s easy to remember, it could expose them to hacking and identity theft. The safest way for your child to protect their personal information is to create passwords that are all different and have no identifiable traits.

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What makes a strong password?

• It has nothing to do with your child’s name, birthday or address
• Uses a mix of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols
• Is at least 10 characters (longer passwords take longer to crack)
   

What does a strong password look like?
   IloveDogs
   Password
   Dogzrule67
   PassDogz!67

Test your password

The website howsecureismypassword.net lets you test how strong passwords are. Enter a test password to see how long it would take a computer to hack your password

How to keep passwords safe

• Change the passwords regularly
• Don’t keep a record of them on the computer or phone

So, there you go. Just a few key hints on getting better online protection with a stronger password so you can surf the web with greater confidence that you won’t bump into any sharks.

Explore our Family Hub for more great advice and information. Or, if you’re looking for a way to keep connected and bring your family together, explore our Family Plans for generous data and amazing value. 

This content has been developed from the Optus Digital Thumbprint program which is a free and award-winning education program that supports young people and families to be safe, responsible and positive online.

Since 2013, we’ve delivered workshops and developed digital tools that have educated more than 320,0000 primary and secondary school students across Australia.