Invitation to Computer Science 8th Edition

Published by Cengage Learning
ISBN 10: 1337561916
ISBN 13: 978-1-33756-191-4

Chapter 6 - 6.4 - Operating Systems - Practice Problems - Page 315: 2

Answer

Passwords are not secure because people often write them down on a piece of paper put in plain sight for all to see. Furthermore, when choosing passwords people will often pick something that can be easily guessed, like their child's name or birthday. You can reduce the risk of using passwords by requiring passwords to $(1)$ be at least $8-10$ characters in length, (2) include at least one special character like $/ \$^{*} \&,$ and $(3)$ not be something found in a dictionary. You can also use personal information rather than a memorized password. Personal information is a fact that you would know without having to write it down, but which an acquaintance or coworker would likely not know-maybe the name of your first pet or your maternal grandfather's first name.

Work Step by Step

Passwords are not secure because people often write them down on a piece of paper put in plain sight for all to see. Furthermore, when choosing passwords people will often pick something that can be easily guessed, like their child's name or birthday. You can reduce the risk of using passwords by requiring passwords to $(1)$ be at least $8-10$ characters in length, (2) include at least one special character like $/ \$^{*} \&,$ and $(3)$ not be something found in a dictionary. You can also use personal information rather than a memorized password. Personal information is a fact that you would know without having to write it down, but which an acquaintance or coworker would likely not know-maybe the name of your first pet or your maternal grandfather's first name.
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