Possessing a strong password is now more important than ever. The more secure the password, the more complicated it is. So, how to balance a highly secure password with the ability to easily recall them?
We know that a safe password is paramount, but how do we create and remember all those random passwords? Here’s some advice on how to create strong passwords you can remember.
Remember the longer the password, the harder it is to crack. Hackers use what is called a “brute force attack”. They run a number of programs to input all possible character combinations. The method is repeated until the password is cracked. The longer the password the more combinations, which means it is harder to crack. Using various spelling or letter capitalisation adds more protection to your password.
Do not use dictionary words. Hackers use lists of commonly used passwords to try to crack yours. It is important not to use commonly used passwords such as qwerty123, password or abc123. This may seem like a crude method of hacking but it is surprisingly effective.
Good method to use is to think of a sentence and place the first letters of each word in a row. So the sentence, My name is John Smith and I was born on 8 September 1995! would create a password MniJSaIwbo8S1995! which is long, contains numbers, special characters, capital and lower case letters, and it’s definitely not found in any dictionary.
Last tip may be obvious but also very important. Do not share your passwords with any one and do not write them down for someone to see.
In conclusion, 100 percent protection does not exist. Every password can be cracked somehow. So the pertinent question is how long it takes. The use of long combinations, comprising letters, numbers and special characters is the first step toward effective protection of your data.
