In this day and age most of us agree that secure passwords are important. We have all heard the news reports about systems getting hacked and personal information being leaked. I know that my personal information is important and even though it is going the easy route, having one simple password for everything just won’t cut it.    

Over the next few weeks everyone who uses BlueSky including all caregivers, facility contacts and company users will be asked to update their password to a stronger, more secure password.  Even though this may seem like an inconvenience it is something that we feel is an important step in keeping personal information secure. 

What does a Strong Password Look Like?

The longer and more complex the password the harder it is for a hacker to crack. So for instance BlueSky is  implementing  standard password policies for BlueSky users to include at least 6 characters, have 1 upper case letter, 1 lower case letter, 1 special character and 1 number. This is requiring users to have at least a minimum in security for the protection of everyone.

There are some other steps you can take in creating the most secure password including; Don’t capitalize the beginning or the end of the password, avoid using common names and words including your actual name or business name and in a perfect world you need to have a different password for every site you use but don’t write them down.

Tips to Remembering Passwords

We all have had those annoying memory lapses that prevent us from getting into our bank accounts or important websites. So if you can’t write a password down and you need a different password for every website then how are you supposed to remember every password you create?  The first suggestion is to use a passphrase.  Come up with a fun phrase that  is easy to remember and go with it. 

Here is an example: 

“Julie is too cool for school.”  

Which in a password looks like this:

ji2c4S. 

My second suggestion for remembering a password is to get a password keeper.  There is software that has been created to help manage all of the many passwords you have for different sites.  One example is “ Keeper Password and Data Vault” for the iphone.   Their website states that they use military grade encryption and will sync with all your devices. 

No matter what way you look at it, passwords are a way of life and although they may be annoying they are not going away. So when your BlueSky asks you to update your password please keep in mind safe password practices, as well as the rules that we are putting forth to ensure all of our users have secure passwords. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this password change please email our support team here or call the support line 615-349-1985 ext. 2 and our team will be happy to assist.