Supplier Registration Help

Strong Passwords

At Transcepta, we require the use of "strong" passwords. That means that your password must be at least 7 characters long, and must contain a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numeric digits, and symbols.

Transcepta is committed to the security and confidentiality of your sensitive business data, and we believe that strong passwords are an important component of our comprehensive security strategy.

What Makes a Strong Password
Passwords are strong when they appear to a hacker or other attacker as an incoherent set of letters and character (versus common words that can be guessed). Here are some specific guidelines:

Long passwords are better than short passwords
Passwords must be at least 7 characters long, Passwords longer than 7 characters are even better. The maximum password length is 30 characters.

Passwords with letters, numbers, and symbols are strongest
Passwords that combine letters (including upper and lower-case letters), numbers, and symbols are very strong, as they cannot be guessed through a common word guessing attack.

At Transcepta, passwords must contain characters from at least 3 of the 4 following categories:

1. Numeric Digits - "0" through "9".
2. Uppercase Letters - "A" through "Z"
3. Lowercase Letters - "a" through "z"
4. Symbols - `!@#$%^&*()_+-={}|[]\:";'<>?,./

Avoid predictable passwords
Avoid passwords such as names or dates that may be easily guessed. Even if they are entered in reverse order (for example, "derf" instead of "fred"), they are just not secure. Also, avoid predictable patterns or sequences such as "111", "123", or "abc".

Make your password easy to remember, but hard to guess
By combining words with symbols or other tricks, you can create passwords that are hard to guess but easy to remember. As an alternative, you can use the following steps to create a strong password:

1. Think of a memorable sentence or other phrase of multiple words (i.e. My dog is black, cute, and very shaggy.)
2. Using the above sentence or phrase, turn it into a password by using the first letters of each word (i.e. "mdibcavs").
3. Add complexity (like capitals) to make the password stronger (i.e. "MdibcaVs").
4. Add some special characters as new punctuation or in place of existing letters. In the above example, we’ll put an "&" in the place of "and", we’ll change the "s" to a "$", and we’ll put an exclamation point at the end. So our password is now "Mdibc&V$!".
5. Check the password using http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/privacy/password_checker.mspx. The sample password we just built is rated “Strong”. Note that the password checker does not store a copy of your password – all components run on your local system, and expire as you navigate away from the referenced page.

Don't write passwords down
Even the best passwords are unsecure if you write them down and leave them in easily discoverable places such as in your desk or affixed to your computer monitor. If you must write them down, they should be stored in secure locations such as locked desk drawers or a safe. There are also a number of commercial software programs specifically designed for storing passwords and keeping them safe.

Change passwords often
Although Transcepta never forces you to change your password, you should get into the habit of changing it regularly; perhaps every 45 to 60 days. And of course you should change it immediately if you ever have reason to believe that someone else has discovered it.

Also, if you forget your password, Transcepta will assign a new password and email it to you. You should immediately log in with the new password and change it.

Summary
Transcepta requires strong passwords as part of our comprehensive strategy to keep your sensitive business data secure and confidential.