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Password Safety
Below are some rules and suggestions on keeping your account safe and secure from intruders and tampering.
DO NOT EVER give your password to anyone claiming to be Othius staff. We have our own ways to get to your password and won't ever ask you for it.
DO NOT EVER post your password in a public place. Doing so is asking for someone to use your password and tamper with your account.
DO NOT give out your password. If it can be avoided, it's best if you don't even give your password even to trusted friends. The more people who know your password the easier it is for someone you don't want to have access to it to gain access.
It is advisable to memorize your password so that you don't have to write it down or keep it on your computer. If you have your password written down or saved electronically make sure that it's in a safe place with limited access. If possible, you may even want to delete password reminder emails once you have your password memorized.
Selection of your password is a key element to insuring it's safety. If your password is too easy to guess someone may be able to gain access to your account. Below is a copy of the Othius.com password selection suggestions found at the bottom of the password changer page in the member's preferences section.
Password Selection Suggestions
Othius.com is very security conscious. While we do our part to keep your membership secure and private, we would appreciate if you helped us do our job by selecting the best password for your account. Though no password is 100% "hack-proof", following our suggestions can reduce the risk of "password break-in".
Othius.com DOs and DON'Ts of password selection:
DON'T use your login name in any form (as-is, reversed, capitalized, doubled, etc.).
DON'T use your first, middle, or last name in any form.
DON'T use your spouse's or child's name.
DON'T use other information easily obtained about you. This includes license plate numbers, telephone numbers, social security numbers, the make of your automobile, the name of the street you live on, etc..
DON'T use a password of all digits, or all the same letter.
DON'T use a word contained in English or foreign language dictionaries, spelling lists, or other lists of words.
DON'T use a password shorter than six characters.
DO use a password with mixed-case alphabetics.
DO use a password with non-alphabetic characters (digits or punctuation).
DO use a password that is easy to remember, so you don't have to write it down.
DO use a password that you can type quickly, without having to look at the keyboard.
Can't think of a password that follows our suggestions? Try one of the following:
Choose a line or two from a song or poem, and use the first letter of each word.
Alternate between one consonant and one or two vowels, up to seven or eight characters. This provides nonsense words which are usually pronounceable, and thus easily remembered.
Choose two short words and concatenate them together with a punctuation character between them.
Users should also change their password periodically, usually every three to six months. This makes sure that an intruder who has guessed a password will eventually lose access, as well as invalidating any list of passwords he/she may have obtained.
We at Othius thank you for taking the time to read this. Even though we're mainly only a chat site, we believe in keeping all personal possessions and information stored on the internet as private as possible. All of the above suggestions are equally, and sometimes more, effective with other password protected things. If we all do our part the internet can be a safer place for all personal data.