PASSWORD SAFETY

Here are a few easy steps to help ensure the safety of a password:
 
Never share a password or personal identification number.
 
Choose secure passwords.  People trying to crack a password will try common information such as telephone number, birthday, address, etc.  Passwords that mix random letters, digits and punctuation are harder for people and programs to crack.
 
Some characteristics of a strong password are:

1. It’s easy to remember.  Don’t pick a password that you will have difficulty remembering.
2. You don’t have to write it down.  Again, if you need to write it down because you have trouble remembering it then you need to choose a different password.
3. You can type it quickly.
4. It’s a mix of apparently random letters and digits.

An easy way to form a secure password that you can remember is to think of a phrase, song, poem, or sentence and use the first letter from each word.  For example:
 
                   "I have owned my dog for 5 years" = Ihomdf5y
 
There are also specific things you should avoid when choosing a password, including the following:

• Words from a dictionary (including foreign language dictionaries) or a word from a dictionary preceded or followed by a single character.  For example, "Firecracker2" is not a secure password.
• Names of any kind, including your login name, your first or last name in any form, or your spouse or child’s name.  Pets name are a bad choice also, as are names of fictional characters.
• Any kind of easily obtained information.  This includes your phone number and your address.
• Simple keyboard patterns such as "12345678".  Generic patterns are easily guessed.
• Well-known phrase mnemonics such as "ROYGBIV" (colors of the rainbow) or "WYSIWYG" (what you see is what you get) are easily guessed.

Change passwords regularly.  FirstNet will prompt you to change your password every six months.  You can change your password anytime you like by clicking on the "Change Password" button within internet banking.
 
Password requirements:

• Your FirstNet password must be at least six characters in length, but not more than ten characters.
• Your FirstNet password must be alpha and numeric (must contain at least one letter and number).
• Your FirstNet password is case sensitive.

Don’t record passwords any place they would be vulnerable.  This includes cellular phones and palm devices.  It also includes a sticky note taped to your monitor or pasted under your keyboard.  These are common places where people keep their passwords written down and also common places where people would look to find yours.  It is also a bad idea to choose the option to save your password when visiting websites- it is much more secure to enter the password again each time you visit.
 
If you forget your password.  FirstNet has the capability to email your password to you.  Enter your User ID and click on the "Forgot Your Password?" link enter your Access ID and click "Submit" and the system will email the current password to the email address on file.
 
If at anytime you feel your password has been compromised, contact us at (580) 482-7700 during normal banking hours or email us at info@fnbaltus.com .