Four Steps To Strong Passwords

        Over the past few weeks, there’s been a lot of people who had an online account password cracked. I begin to wonder how strong their old passwords were, and how secure the new one is. In this day and age, passwords being stolen is a bigger security risk instead of actually hacking into a home PC. With almost everything being done online, a secure password is the best defense you can have to keep your accounts safe.

  

       Now, password creating can be broken down into four main categories. The first is avoid common passwords that any password cracking tool can do within minutes. The second is try not using the same password for everything. The third is to make them strong enough that unless they really want in, most people would give up. The final categories is writing them down.

       The first one sadly is still being practiced. A common password is passwords that is so generic, people can type them into any site to access an account with seconds. The most infamous example is the word password. This one is so overused that some sites will reject any password that even resembles the word (Example: P@ssw0rd). Another bad example is typing across a row of the keyboard such as qwertyuiop . I will not deny for accounts that I use for purely junk emails, I’ve used some of the passwords on the list linked below. However, if someone really wants my junk email that bad, they can have it. The accounts were mostly created because a site I was one really wanted an email , so losing them is not the end of the world.

Common Passwords

      Secondly, using the same password for everything can be just as bad as using a common password. Even if it’s not on the list, and is a very unique password, I try to make different passwords for anything I want to keep absolutely secure. However, even I’m guilty of using the same passwords for some things that I’m either too lazy to create a password for, or I keep forgetting the password that I got tired of resetting it the few times a year I have to log in
.

      Now, here’s where the fun begins. There are so many methods out there about creating a strong password that a Google search pulls over a million results. Overall, they all have the same guidelines which I’m now presenting below:

1) Minimum of ten characters. Some sites will go lower to say eight, but the more characters a password has, the longer it takes to crack.

2) Use a combination of capital letters, lower case letters, symbols, and numbers. Again, some sites say one of each, but the more you use, the tougher the password comes. The longest I will go is 15 total.

3) Avoid using common knowledge things, such as names, places, etc. None of my passwords for the things I absolutely want to keep locked have even my pets’ names.

4) Be random. Even a random phrase can make all the difference.

Here’s a few examples of what is considered a strong password:

Mar0oNEl#ph@nt5^

G$56ghty&()&)*fTgh

Ir3allyloveb@gels2

Un!c0rnsF@rtSR0cK

      If you want to get a rough idea how strong your passwords are, check out this link below:

Password Checker

       The final advise is write them down on paper, and store them somewhere safe. I know it’s easier to have the PC remember them, but the only downside is software and/or hardware will fail without warning. Then you’ll have to spend all day trying to either remember them, or go through the whole reset process. With having them offline on paper, you can get back into accounts within minutes instead of wasting a whole day trying to get back in. I have mine printed out because to be honest, I can’t remember them since mine can be that complex. In conclusion, if the password is so unique that you can’t memorize it, the less chances of it being cracked.