PennKey Password Guidelines

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:

password rules

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.