System administrators, or end users for that matter, must look to their current auditing procedure for ensuring access protection when logging into their systems. Logging machine activity consists of anything from a hand written sign-in log at the workstation to installing a software package that logs the identity of each user accessing the machine during a period of time.
Password management is essential in circumstances where security must be ensured. Passwords are often overlooked as possible security loopholes, resulting in the most easy way for an outsider to break into a machine.
PASSWORD GUIDELINES
Passwords should be complex enough to make them difficult to guess. On the other hand, passwords must also be easy to remember by the authorized user. A user must NEVER use a password such as: their name spelled backwards, any personal information such as a pet's name or license plate number, a no nonsense word that is easy to type on the keyboard (such as qwerty), or any word in any language. The average cracker has dictionaries from many languages, including slang, built into their password cracking programs.
A good password should consist of at least seven characters, of which there should be at least three "special" characters involved. Special characters consist of numbers, capitalization of a few of the letters, and the special characters located above the numbers on the keyboard (ex., #, &, ^, @, etc.), and or numbers. This password configuration need not be difficult to remember. A user can simple choose a word and substitute special characters for individual letters in the word. An example of this might be the word, 'daylight' spelled d@YL1gHt*, with an asterisk thrown in at the end for good measure.
Using this method, the user can be reasonably sure that a cracker will have a hard enough time attempting to crack your password and move on to somebody else's machine. If you're worried that a cracker will decipher the first few letters of your password and then figure the rest of it out in short order, you needn't be worried.
Password cracking programs only figure out the entire password. They cannot break a password one letter at a time. Remember that there is no such thing as an unbreakable password. Eventually a password can be broken by a program, although with a carefully chosen password, this cost the cracker more resources than they have at their disposal and could conceivably take many years.
Passwords should also be easy enough for the end user to type quickly to prevent wandering eyes from deciphering what it is. Users should never type their password with someone else in line of sight with the keyboard.
Passwords should be regulated and changed every so often, a good rule is change after six months of use. Passwords should be protected with great care. A user should never write his or her password down anywhere, nor should they consider giving it to anyone else. If you are fearful that you will forget it, then a solution might be to write it down and secure it in a safe only accessible to those who have accounts of the same nature as yours.