Technofiles: Password Prevented; September 2011; Scientific American Magazine; by David Pogue; 2 Page(s)

Nobody seems to think much about passwords. After all, isn’t their purpose obvious? You need one on your bank account so that nobody else can use your money. You need one on your e-mail account so that strangers can’t find out your innermost thoughts. 

But I was astonished when my daughter told me that her school has instituted a new security initiative. Student passwords must now be at least eight characters long, must contain letters, numbers and punctuation, and may not incorporate any recognizable English word. And the password must be changed every 30 days.