公司或个人所享有的安全级别’机密数据决定了数据或信息的安全性。通常，恶意软件或黑客利用数据保护机制中存在的弱点。主要弱点之一是使用弱密码。当人们在计算机上使用弱密码时，这些计算机上存储的数据没有得到充分的保护，因此，未经授权的恶意人员可以访问这些数据。使用弱密码的后果可能非常严重。一个非常严重的后果的例子是著名的Conficker病毒造成的损害。据估计，损失在2亿美元到90亿美元之间。

Why is it risky to use weak 密码s in computers?

Weak 密码s are quite easy to guess. A malicious hacking software repeatedly makes some random guesses until the guess matches the value of the 密码. The weaker the 密码, the easier it is for hackers to access confidential data/information illegally. The Conficker virus managed to access computers whose 密码s were just very weak.

What are the characteristics of weak 密码s?

The following are two characteristics of weak 密码s:

• 太短–  Any 密码 that has less than eight characters is considered a weak 密码. Short 密码s are easier to guess than long 密码s.
• 容易猜到–  某些人用作密码的短语或字符对于黑客来说太容易了。此类密码的示例包括一个人’的正式名称，昵称，孩子’的姓名和出生年份。其他易于猜测的密码包括“mypassword”, “my 密码”, “password”,”mypass”,”my pass”, “psw”，以及某人工作的组织的名称

What are the characteristics of strong 密码s?

Strong 密码s have three main characteristics that distinguish them from weak 密码s. The three characteristics are:

• 字母，特殊符号和数字的组合使用。 A sufficiently strong 密码 uses a combination of both lower case 和 uppercase letters, numbers, spaces 和 some special symbols such as “}”, “_”, “#”,”@” 和 “&”.
• 使用难以猜测的长短语。 A strong 密码 may be a long phrase that is easy for the user to remember, but very difficult for others to guess. The strength of these longer phrases can be improved by using a combination of lower case 和 upper case letters. Adding empty spaces can also strengthen the 密码.
• 最小长度为八个字符。 A strong 密码 should have at least eight characters in length. Long 密码s make it more difficult for hackers 和 hacking software to guess. In addition, attempts to guess long 密码s take so long that some hackers can just give up.
• What are the recommended ways to assign 和 use 密码s in an organisation? Each user in an organization should have his/her own 密码. Sharing of 密码s among users should be prohibited. The users should not be allowed to write them down their 密码s. For 它的安全性 changing 密码s regularly is highly recommended.