Tips for password security – Support

Password Security with a Strategy

Your password strategy is critical to your security. Here are some ideas to improve the security of the passwords you use:

Every website password should be unique
Pick a base password that is at least eight (8) characters long (some websites don't allow 10 character passwords)
Use both upper and lower case letters and at least one number
Symbols and punctuation can be good as well, but some websites don't allow non-alphanumeric entries in a password
Bill.com allows longer passwords because your security is important to us
Banks and other highly secure sites often require passwords that are at least 10 characters long
Make sure the password means something to you, but does not contain personal information

An example of a good base password choice would be 2McitK, when it comes from the meaningful phrase "Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen"

You can then create unique iterations for each website login
When you take two or more characters from the domain name, the password to your Bill.com account could become 2McitK+Bl, 2McitK+BilL, or 2McitK&bll
When you change the password, you can decide to increment from that base again
McitK+Bl could become 3McitK+Bl or 2McitK+Bl2

Have a different base password for different types of use

Personal, business, and financial passwords should be unique from the base password, so that even if someone manages to crack the code, they will be limited in the scope of access they have

Don't ever type your password into someone else's computer
- They could knowingly or unknowingly have a keylogger installed, even from an SSL website
Don't share your passwords with anyone, even loved ones
If you're using public internet access be very careful that you only type your password into sites that use SSL
If you see any SSL warnings, immediately disconnect and stop using the connection, as this means someone could be "sniffing" your passwords or otherwise trying to cause harm

One final note: Please don't use the examples we've provided. Since they are available on this webpage, they are not secure.