User:Esquivalience/Personal security guide

As a Wikipedia editor, you need to protect your account, especially if you have special privileges such as administrator or bureaucrat privileges. Your account can be used to damage the encyclopedia if used by the wrong person, and that damage increases the more permissions a compromised account has.

Therefore, I have compiled some tips to secure your account.

Your password


First off, don't leave your fly open by securing your account with a strong password. If your password can be easily guessed, even if you have the most secure system and you do not share your password with anyone, you are highly vulnerable to having your account compromised.

A strong password:


 * is long enough (I recommended 10 or more characters, more if you have special privileges).
 * preferably contains a diversified combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers (symbols are a bonus)
 * does not contain any long dictionary word, whether formal or informal.
 * does not have an obvious pattern (e.g. "qwerty")

Here are some examples of weak passwords:


 * password - dictionary word, very commonly used, obvious
 * letmein - relatively easy to figure out with a dictionary attack.

Here are some examples of strong passwords (do not use them, however, because they have already been used as an example):


 * Zf33fmLFTE3meHEspjEK62gv - will take centuries to guess, 6224 possible combinations. A computer will have to guess at 3.3 x 1033 passwords per second to crack it in 100 years.
 * z8^x_eUtvAxEP%-+N+@YxCkA7_zf@C - even stronger than the previous one (9230 possible combinations).