Which practice supports strong password security?

Which practice supports strong password security?

• A. Use eight-character minimum with mixed case, numbers, and symbols
• B. Reuse the same password across multiple sites
• C. Share passwords with coworkers
• D. Use easily guessable words

Answer: (A)

Strong password security rests on making passwords long and complex enough to resist guessing and cracking. Requiring an eight-character minimum plus a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols greatly expands the number of possible combinations, raising the effort attackers must expend for brute-force or dictionary attacks. This baseline directly boosts password entropy and reduces predictability. The other practices undermine security: reusing the same password across sites means a breach at one site can compromise accounts elsewhere; sharing passwords with coworkers creates unnecessary exposure and weakens accountability; using easily guessable words can be cracked quickly by simple dictionary attacks. So at least eight characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols is the strongest, most effective choice.

Strong password security rests on making passwords long and complex enough to resist guessing and cracking. Requiring an eight-character minimum plus a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols greatly expands the number of possible combinations, raising the effort attackers must expend for brute-force or dictionary attacks. This baseline directly boosts password entropy and reduces predictability.

The other practices undermine security: reusing the same password across sites means a breach at one site can compromise accounts elsewhere; sharing passwords with coworkers creates unnecessary exposure and weakens accountability; using easily guessable words can be cracked quickly by simple dictionary attacks. So at least eight characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols is the strongest, most effective choice.