Different company may have different password requirements, and there is no universal password guideline to follow. However, there are some common best practice for creating strong and complex passwords.For example, the commonly accepted minimum length of password is 8 characters, but more and more companies suggest or require more than 12 characters. Strong passwords should mix lowercase letters with uppercase letters, and contain numbers as well. Another important component of a strong password is to include special characters, or non-alphanumeric characters.
Recently, it came to my attention that Walmart.com and Sprint.com don’t follow the commonly accepted best practice for creating passwords.
Walmart.com only allows use to create password with 6-12 alphanumeric characters. No special character is allowed.
Sprint.com allows user to create password with 6-33 alphanumeric characters, only two special characters are allowed: underscore “_” and hyphen “-“. For a list of disallowed special characters for Sprint.com, check here: https://community.sprint.com/baw/docs/DOC-4051
I contacted Walmart.com customer care regarding their password restriction, and here is their absurd response:
Do you know any company who does not follow the commonly accepted password guideline? Please share with us in the comment.
