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Hello, my name's Mrs. Jones, and I'm really pleased you decided to join this lesson today.
In this lesson, we will look at strong passwords and secure access.
You might have lots of different online accounts, and it is important to make sure your accounts are safe by having strong passwords.
You might also have other layers of security, like multi-factor authentication.
So let's get started and learn about strong passwords and ensuring secure access.
Welcome to today's lesson.
Today's lesson is called Strong Passwords and Secure Access from the unit, From Unbox to Recycle: The Journey of a Digital Device.
And by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to create, store, and protect strong passwords to keep devices secure.
There are three keywords to today's lesson, strong password.
Strong password is a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to create an unpredictable sequence of characters.
Multi-factor authentication, MFA.
Multi-factor authentication is a security system that requires two or more distinct forms of identification.
For example, a password and a fingerprint.
Password manager.
Password manager is an application that stores multiple passwords under a single strong password.
There are three sections to today's lesson.
The first is explain what makes a password strong and secure.
The second, describe safe ways to remember or store passwords.
And the third, explain the risks of weak or compromised passwords.
So let's start with explain what makes a password strong and secure.
A password is a secret string of characters that may include letters, numbers, and symbols.
A user creates a password to prove their identity and gain access to systems, accounts, or data.
Password security can be improved by using strong passwords.
Strong passwords should be at least 12 characters long, include uppercase and lowercase letters.
You can see example, capital A's, all the capital letters is uppercase.
And in lowercase, Z is the lowercase alphabet A to Z.
Include numbers and symbols.
You can see some examples there of what that might be.
Jacob says, "I have one strong password that I use across all my accounts.
" Lucas says, "I'm not sure that is a good idea, Jacob.
" Strong passwords should be unique.
That means you use different passwords for different accounts and systems.
Passwords should also be changed every six months, or after a data breach.
Let's have a quick check.
Which of the following is an example of a strong password?
Is it A, B, or C?
Pause the video.
Have a look at those passwords there for A, B, and C and decide which one you think is the strongest.
And then we'll go through the answer.
Let's check your answer.
The answer was B.
Well done if you got that correct.
To improve security even further, multi-factor authentication, MFA, can be used.
You can see there, the tick has been placed in, "Would you like to enable multi-factor authentication on this account?
" When a password is correctly entered, the user will be asked to prove their identity in another way.
They may be asked to enter a unique code that has been sent by a text message to their mobile phone.
You can see there on the left, "Please enter the unique code sent to the mobile number," with the phone number there, and you can see it's been hidden and only the last three digits shown.
And then you enter it into the area supplied.
They may be asked to verify their identity by checking an email.
MFA improves security by requiring more than just a password to prove who you are.
You can see there you've got face, use the phone, email, or fingerprint.
This makes it much harder for attackers to break into systems even if they have your password.
Let's have a quick check, true or false?
If I have MFA enabled on my accounts, I don't need a strong password anymore because the second factor will always keep me safe.
Pause the video to consider if that is true or false and why, then we'll check it.
Let's check your answer.
The answer was false.
MFA is an extra layer of security.
It doesn't replace the need for a strong password.
Well done if you got that correct.
Let's do the activity.
There are two parts.
In the first, in your own words, explain what makes a password strong and secure.
In the second, explain how multi-factor authentication, MFA, can be used to add an extra layer of security.
Pause the video.
Complete the activity, and then we'll go through an answer.
Let's check your answer.
So for the first part was, in your own words, explain what makes a password strong and secure.
A strong password is a password that is hard for someone else to guess.
It should have a mixture of capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
It also shouldn't be something easy to guess, like your name or 1234.
Passwords should be more than 12 characters long, as this makes them harder to crack.
You should not reuse passwords, and you should change passwords every six months.
And for the second part, explain how multi-factor authentication, MFA, can be used to add an extra layer of security.
Multi-factor authentication, MFA, adds another step to protect your account.
Even if someone knows your password, they also need a code from your phone or email to login, or a biometric check like facial or fingerprint recognition.
It keeps your account safer by adding an extra layer of security.
Well done if you got those correct.
Let's move on to the second part of today's lesson, describe safe ways to remember or store passwords.
Jacob says, "I'm not sure I can remember all of these strong passwords.
Maybe I should write them in my notebook.
" And Lucas says, "I'm not sure that is a good idea, Jacob.
" Writing passwords down in notebooks or on sticky notes is not a good idea, as people could easily see or steal your password.
Lucas said, "There must be a safer way to remember passwords.
" There are safe ways to remember or store passwords, and these include memorable phrases, making password hints and using a password manager.
True or false, writing down a password is a good idea to help you remember it?
Pause the video.
Consider if that is true or false and why and then we'll check your answer.
Let's check your answer.
The answer was false.
Writing passwords down is not a good idea as people could easily see or steal your password.
Well done if you got that correct.
Memorable phrases.
If you struggle to remember passwords, you could use a sentence or phrase that only you will remember or understand.
And see here, "MyCatEats4MiceADay!
" Making password hints.
You can also create password hints that help you to remember the password, but that do not reveal the password to anyone else.
Stealthy top pet in water, and that's for F1shyN1nja!
there and you can see the password.
A password manager.
A password manager is an application that acts like a digital vault for all of your passwords.
A password manager safely stores all your passwords.
You only need to remember one strong master password or use biometrics to access the app and all of your stored passwords.
Password managers often have the following features.
Password generation - a password manager will create a strong password for you.
Autofill - a password manager will automatically appear when you attempt to login to an app or account.
Synchronize passwords - a password manager will synchronize passwords across devices.
Compromise alerts - a password manager will let you know if a password has been compromised.
Let's have a quick check.
Which of the following are common features of a password manager?
Is it A, password generation, B, file encryption, C, compromise alerts.
Pause the video to consider your answer, and then we'll check it.
Let's check your answer.
The answer was A, password generation, and C, compromise alerts.
Well done if you got that correct.
Let's do the activity.
Aisha wants to start using strong passwords across all of her accounts, but is worried about remembering all of them.
Describe some safe ways that Aisha could use to remember and store her strong passwords.
Pause the video.
Complete the activity and then we'll go through the answer.
Let's check your answer.
Andeep has said, "Aisha can keep her passwords safe and still remember them by doing a few things.
She could use a password manager, which is an app that remembers all her passwords for her, and she only has to remember one strong password.
She could also make password phrases like a sentence or words that she can remember, for example, MyDogEats2Apples!
She should never write them on paper or tell anyone, but she could make hints only she understands to help her remember.
" Well done if you got that correct.
Let's move on to the third part of today's lesson, explain the risks of weak or compromised passwords.
A weak password is a password that is easy for someone else to guess or hack.
It usually uses simple words like your name, is short, less than 12 characters, and uses only letters or only numbers.
Examples of weak passwords, you can see here, 12345, or password, or ABC123.
A cracked password is a password that someone has guessed or has deliberately discovered in a password attack.
A password attack refers to any one of the many ways to get hold of someone's password.
Two possible methods are brute force attacks and dictionary attacks.
A brute force attack uses a computer program to generate all combinations of characters, until it finds the combination that matches the password.
A dictionary attack is a brute force attack that uses a list of passwords, the dictionary, to check if the password that is being cracked matches a password in the list.
This list may include common passwords and also passwords that have been hacked from other sites.
Let's have a quick check.
State three features of a strong password that will help to prevent brute force attacks.
Pause the video to consider your answer, and then we'll check it.
Let's check your answer.
It could be one, using long passwords.
Two, combining characters, numbers, and symbols.
Three, making passwords unique for each account.
Well done if you got that correct.
A compromised password is a password that is no longer secret.
A compromised password means that your account is no longer secure.
Passwords can become compromised through password attacks or data leaks.
If passwords are reused, this can mean that multiple accounts are at risk.
Jacob says, "How do I know if my password has been compromised?
" There are some signs that one of your passwords has been compromised, you get a message about a login you don't recognize, your password suddenly stops working, emails or messages are sent without you doing it.
Jacob says, "What should I do if one of my passwords has been compromised?
" If a password has been compromised, you should change the password straightaway.
Make the new password strong and unique.
Turn on multi-factor authentication, MFA.
Check other accounts that use the same password.
Let's have a quick check.
True or false, you only need one strong password and you can use this across multiple accounts?
Pause the video to consider if that is true or false and why and then we'll check it.
Let's check your answer.
The answer was false.
You should not reuse passwords.
If you struggle to remember passwords, you can store them using a password manager.
Well done if you got that correct.
Let's do the activity.
In your own words, explain the risks of weak or compromised passwords.
Pause the video, complete the activity, and then we'll go through an answer.
Let's check your answer.
If your password is weak or it has been compromised, your account isn't safe.
Once someone has access to your accounts, they could steal personal information, send messages pretending to be you, or access other accounts if you use the same password elsewhere.
That's why it's important to use strong and unique passwords and to turn on extra protection like multi-factor authentication, MFA.
Well done if you got that correct.
In summary, a strong password makes it harder for other people to access accounts, messages, and files.
Reusing passwords means one compromised password can give access to many accounts.
Password managers can store passwords safely.
Well done for completing this lesson, Strong Passwords and Secure Access.
