Teach: Protect Your Password, ID, and Account

Protect Your Password, ID, and Account

When using various services such as games, social media, and school tablets, you enter an “ID” and “password.” These are important keys used to confirm that the person using the service is really you. In this lesson, you will learn the meanings of ID, password, and account, as well as how to protect them properly.

What Are an ID, Password, and Account?

An account is “a place just for you” within a service. Game save data and social media posts are stored in your account. The “name” used to enter the account is the ID, and the “secret word” is the password. The account can be opened only when the combination of ID and password is correct.

Why Must You Not Tell Other People Your Password?

If you tell someone your password, that person may enter your account while pretending to be you. They could send messages you did not write, look at important photos, or change your settings without permission. The basic rule is not to tell anyone other than your family, even a close friend. Even if someone says, “It’s only once” or “I need your help, so lend it to me,” remember that passwords are different.

What Makes a Strong Password?

Passwords that are easy to guess (for example, “1234,” “password,” or your name or birthday) may be guessed by others. Four tips for creating a strong password are: ① make it at least 8 characters long, ② mix letters and numbers, ③ do not use information people know, such as your name or birthday, and ④ use a different password for each service. If you reuse one password on many services, someone who obtains it from one service may also enter your other services.

Example A friend may say, “Tell me your game password. I’ll log in for you and get the items.” It may sound helpful, but if you tell your friend the password, they will be able to enter your account at any time. Your account may also be put at risk if you stop being friends or if your friend tells someone else the password. When someone needs to do something for you, it is safer not to tell them your password, but to operate the device yourself while they are watching.
Key Points
  • Account＝your own place within a service. ID＝name; password＝secret word.
  • Do not tell your password to anyone outside your family. Close friends are not an exception.
  • A strong password is long, difficult to guess, and not reused.
  • Do not use information known by others, such as your name or birthday.
  • Reusing a password puts other services at risk if it is exposed in one place.

Practice Problems

  1. Using the words in the lesson, explain what an “ID” and a “password” are compared to.
  2. Explain why you must not tell your password to other people.
  3. Give two ways to make a strong password.

Answers and Explanations

  1. Answer: An ID is like your “name,” and a password is like a “secret word” known only to you.
    Explanation: The answer is correct if it matches ID with “name” and password with “secret word.”
  2. Answer: If you tell someone, that person can pretend to be you, enter your account, send messages, look at photos, or change settings without permission.
    Explanation: It is sufficient to state that someone could enter while pretending to be you. The same risk exists even with a close friend.
  3. Answer: (Examples) ① Make a long password of at least 8 characters. ② Do not use information known by others, such as your name or birthday. ③ Use a different password for each service, and so on.
    Explanation: Any two of the three methods are correct. Remember the two directions of “length” and “difficulty to guess.”

Information (Junior High): related lessons