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Password control to user accounts is proving to be a headache for both users and system administrators.  All too often users create ‘default' accounts for quick and easy access to a system which then never get changed to provide an appropriate level of security.  The key phrase is ‘an appropriate level of security'.  Any facility where there is a commercial or confidential implication to unauthorised access requires a ‘strong' password.

However some users create, or are forced to create strong passwords which are then so difficult to remember they make their way onto a Post It stuck to the screen or keyboard.

Common Passwords
Here are the top 10 most commonly used passwords.  If your password is on this list, change it.

10. 'thomas' (0.99‰)
9. 'arsenal' (1.11‰)
8. 'monkey' (1.33‰)
7. 'charlie' (1.39‰)
6. 'qwerty' (1.41‰)
5. '123456' (1.63‰)
4. 'letmein' (1.76‰)
3. 'liverpool' (1.82‰)
2. 'password' (3.780‰)
1. '123' (3.784‰)

Source: www.modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk/

Strong Passwords
Guidance on choosing ‘strong' passwords.

Passwords in the Wrong Hands
There was a recent incident in California where Terry Childs, a City of San Francisco network administrator reset all the admin passwords to all the routers in the city's FiberWAN network and held the City's administration to ransom. www.channelweb.co.uk - August 2008.

Fastrac (Online) Passwords
Fastrac users have additional security.  As well as username and password control, DDL have incorporated IP control so that each user can only access the account from a nominated server IP address.  This means that if a disgruntled employee leaves the organisation and takes with him/her login details for Fastrac, the account will only work from the original IT system associated with the company.