A password that complies with the new password rules doesn’t have to be as complicated as it may seem. Why not use a pass phrase instead? For example, “Chg is good!” and “I luv Fluffy” would both pass the university’s password quality tests. You may also choose to use the style you’d use when you text someone from your cell phone, substituting numbers for letters to shorten long words.

Need another idea? Try making an acronym from a line of your favorite song, saying, or poem. Using this technique, “TtlsH1wwya” could be the password version of “Twinkle twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are.”

Your password doesn’t have to be a string of meaningless characters or something that’s hard to remember. Be creative. Choose something meaningful to you and mix it up a bit.

For a refresher on password quality tests and for more information about the password requirements the university must adhere to, please visit www.password.umd.edu.