A Practical Guide to Creating Secure Passwords
For almost every online account, a secure password is your first line of defense. Choosing one that's difficult for others to guess is crucial. Fortunately, crafting hard-to-crack and easy-to-remember passwords is a straightforward skill to learn.
Method 1: Applying Password Basics
- Choose a password that no one will easily guess or hack.
Don't use a word or phrase of special importance to you—like a birthday or family member. That's the kind of information that can be discovered by someone doing a little digging. Also, avoid default passwords like "password", "password123", "1234", or "admin", as these are the first ones attackers try.
- Do not share passwords.
This is an open invitation to your online accounts and is a common way for identity theft to occur.
- Make sure your passwords are long.
It should be at least 10-12 characters long, and longer is always better. The longer a password is, the exponentially harder it is for computers to crack.
- Use a mix of character types.
Include at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, a number, and a special symbol (e.g., !, @, #, $, %). The characters should not be grouped together. Mixing them up makes the password much more difficult to predict.
- Use spaces or underscores.
Many systems now allow spaces in passwords, turning a password into a more memorable passphrase. If spaces aren't allowed, an underscore "_" can serve a similar function to separate words.
- Generate similar but distinct passwords for separate accounts.
You can use a similar base phrase to help you remember your passwords but modify it for each site. For example, "My!BlueCar-Amazon" could be modified for another site as "My!BlueCar-Google".
- Write down your password and keep it in a safe place.
For critical passwords, consider writing them down and storing them in a secure physical location away from your computer, like a safe or a locked drawer. Do not leave it on a sticky note on your monitor.
Method 2: Creating a Secure Pass-Phrase
- Create a sentence or phrase as the basis for your password.
This is a useful starting point for making a password that's complex while being easy for you to remember. A great technique is to think of a memorable sentence and use the first letter of each word.
- Use your sentence to craft an easily memorable password.
For example, the sentence "My mother was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 27th!" could become the password "MmwbiKC,MoJ27!". It's long, complex, and yet tied to a memorable (but not easily guessable) fact.
- Create a complex but memorable sequence of words.
You can also string together a few random but memorable words. For instance, "Correct-Horse-Battery-Staple" is extremely difficult for a computer to guess but easy for a human to remember.
- Remember to update and vary passwords.
You shouldn't use the same password across multiple critical logins (like your email and your bank). If one gets breached, they all become vulnerable. Change important passwords every few months.
Method 3: Using Password Managers
- Select a password management program.
This software will generate, store, and fill in unique, complex passwords for all your accounts. You only need to remember one strong "master" password to unlock your vault. Popular options include 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.
- Download and install a password manager.
Follow the instructions from the vendor's website. They typically have applications for all your devices (computer, phone, tablet) and extensions for your web browser.
- Set up your password manager and create a strong master password.
Your master password is the key to your entire digital life, so make it very strong and memorable using the techniques from Method 2. Do not forget this password, as most services cannot recover it for you.
- Customize your preferences and start using it.
Let the manager generate new, random passwords for your accounts. You can configure it to auto-fill logins, sync across devices, and audit your existing passwords for weaknesses.
