SecurityQuestionsExamples

Examples of Good Security Questions

Question	Answer	Reason Why Its a Good Choice
What is my favorite football team?	Barcelona	Simple, one word answer and a question that should last with you for life.
Name of my first ever dog?	Rover	Specific question with a single word answer
Surname of my first ever boyfriend/girlfriend	Thomas	Specific question with a single word answer
My father’s first name	John	Specific question with a single word answer

Question	Answer	Reason Why Its a Bad Choice
What is my favorite color?	Blue	Can be easily guessed-at by other people.
In what year was I born?	1980	Anyone that knows you can probably guess your age within a few attempts.
What is the name of my boyfriend/girlfriend	Jamie	This may not be a good choice (depending on how frequently your love life changes!)
My first holiday	Abergavenny, Wales, 1994	Question is not specific enough and answer is too long and uses punctuation which may not be repeated the same way. To clarify, specifying “Abergavenny, Wales – 1994” would result in SkyLog rejecting your answer as it needs to be an exact match.
My first pet	A gerbil called “Petal”	See previous note - not specific enough and prone to not getting an exact match if its presented to a forgetful user weeks, months, years after registering.
What is my surname?	Smith	Too easy for anyone to answer
What is my password?	London2012	If you can’t remember your password in the first place then you won’t be able to answer your security question either!
What is my credit card PIN?	9312	Such information shouldn’t be posted on-line, it should be something known only to you and should not be shared / divulged. Besides, some people have multiple credit cards, thus the question may not be specific.
What is my social security number?	AB 00 11 22 C	Such information shouldn’t be posted on-line needlessly (unless it is required by a government agency or your employer).