Strong Password Composition

Owned by mhodges
Last updated: Mar 08, 2010Version comment
1 min read

A strong password is composed of at least:

  • One lowercase letter: {a-z}.
  • One uppercase letter: {A-Z}.
  • One number: {0-9}.
  • One special character: any printable (ASCII) character not already mentioned above; a 'space' is also a special character, but not the 'tab'.
    • Current exceptions (characters that will be disallowed in passwords):
    • '(' & ')' have been disallowed due to a bug in the UH Webmail application

And a strong password:

  • Is not a dictionary word (this does not imply that only a standard English dictionary is consulted).
  • Cannot be easily transformed to a dictionary word using obvious substitutions like zero for 'o'. 
  • Does not include your UH Username, UH Number or other obvious personal information.

    Please Note!!!

    A strong password is not necessarily universally accepted.
    In very rare circumstances you may discover that your password cannot be processed by a specific application. Either the password is too long, or it contains a special character that the application will not allow. The application should provide relevant information to help with determining if this is the problem.  You may have to change your password in order to access the application.