What exactly is a strong password?

As we mentioned previously, choosing a strong password is crucial for keeping your account safe in the 'Cloud. So, what exactly is a strong password you may ask?

We recommend following one of these two approaches:

- Choose a random string of at least 8 characters, including upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. Do not use your name, date of birth, part of your email address, login or other personal information, or common words that could be found in a dictionary. One of many approaches to this would be to pick the first letter of each word of a song you like - for example, for "You're the first, the last, my everything!", that might be "Yt1,tl,me!".

- Choose a passphrase comprised of multiple (at least 4) words that are more easy to remember, but make no sense whatsoever. Do not use movie titles, proverbs, or other commonplaces - but stick to real randomness! For an inspirational example of this strategy, have a look at XKCD's brilliant comic on password strength.

If you want some help managing your passwords, we recommend tools such as 1Password and LastPass.

But remember, don't use the same password across multiple sites, and keep your password to yourself - without exception!