PennKey Password Guidelines

To protect your personal information and Penn resources, your PennKey password needs enough length, variety, and unpredictability to qualify as secure.

The easiest option is a password where length alone makes it resistant to being compromised. Long passwords have fewer requirements.

Tip: Use four or more unrelated words to form a strong password that's easy to remember, such as: boldaugustpretzelcloud

You can also create a shorter password that introduces more variety and unpredictability into your character combination. A password this long must contain:

20 or more characters: any U.S. keyboard characters
example: boldaugustpretzelcloud

16-19 characters: capital and lower-case letters
example: BoldAugustPretzel

12-15 characters: capital and lower-case letters and numbers
example: 4Bold7August8

8-11 characters: capital and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols
example: $4Bold78!

PennKey passwords are also screened for easily guessed combinations, such as:

Portions of, or simple variations on, your name or PennKey username
Single dictionary words (English and non-English): Diversifications, Alternativamente
Common 2-3 word combinations: PhiladelphiaEagles
Predictable strings: 123123, abcdef, qwerty, johnpaulgeorgeringo, pa$$w0rd, drowssap
Compromised passwords on published lists

If you have trouble remembering a longer password, write it down and handle it with the same caution you would a credit card.