GoalTell a strong password from a weak one and explain why each account needs its own.
New words
password · a secret word or phrase that opens an accountstrong · long, hard to guess and different from your other passwordsunique · used for one account onlypassword manager · a program that makes and remembers strong passwords for you
Explanation
A password is the key to an account, and a key must be kept safe. A weak password is short or easy to guess: a name, a birthday year, ‘123456’. A strong password is long, mixes words, numbers and a symbol, and means something only to you. Make it unique, too: one password for each account. If one account is broken into, the others stay safe, like having a different key for every door. Remembering many long passwords is hard, so some grown-ups use a password manager. It is like a safe notebook that makes up secrets and remembers them for you. A child does not set one up alone. The examples here are invented: never use them for a real account, and never tell your password to a friend.
Invented password
Rating
Why?
123456
weak
short and easy to guess
Omar2015
weak
a name and a year
tea-moon-bridge-84
strong
long, mixed, not about you
the same one for every account
weak
one break-in opens all doors
Worked examples
Salma wants a password. ‘salma2015’ is easy to guess because it is her name and year. Her uncle shows her an idea: join four unrelated words and a number, like a silly sentence only she knows.
Karim uses one password for his game and his school account. A stranger finds it from the game and tries it on the school account too. With a unique password for each, the school account stays safe.
Mina’s mother uses a password manager. It makes a long secret for each account and remembers them all, while she remembers only one strong main secret.
Class activity
Password lab (paper only). Invent four pretend passwords. Swap with a partner without telling any real password. Rate each as weak or strong and say why. Write the three rules of a strong password: long, mixed, unique. Draw a key and write one sentence about why you never tell your real password to a friend.
Practice
1
Is ‘123456’ a strong password? Why not?
No. It is short and easy to guess.
2
What does ‘unique’ mean for a password?
It is used for one account only.
3
What is a password manager like?
A safe notebook that makes up secrets and remembers them for you.
4
Look at the picture. Which is the stronger choice? Say the letter.
