What are the best practices for creating strong passwords?

1 Why passwords matter

Passwords are the first line of defense for your online accounts, devices, and networks. They act as keys to unlock your access to various services, platforms, and resources. If your passwords are weak or compromised, you risk exposing your sensitive information, such as your identity, financial details, contacts, messages, and work files. This can lead to serious consequences, such as fraud, reputation damage, legal liability, and productivity loss. Therefore, you need to create strong passwords that can withstand common hacking methods, such as brute force, dictionary, phishing, and keylogging attacks.

2 What makes a strong password

A strong password is one that is long, complex, unique, and random. It should have at least 12 characters and include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It should not contain any personal or common information, such as your name, birthday, address, or words from the dictionary. It should also not be reused for different accounts or devices. A strong password is hard to guess by humans or machines, and hard to crack by hackers.

3 How to create a strong password

There are several methods you can use to create a strong password. One of them is to use a passphrase, which is a sentence or phrase that you can remember easily. For example, you can use the first letters of a song lyric, a quote, or a mnemonic device. Then, you can replace some letters with numbers or symbols, or add some random characters at the beginning or end. For example, if your passphrase is "Mary had a little lamb", you can turn it into "Mh@lL!2021" or "7#Maryhadalittlelamb".

Another method is to use a password generator, which is a tool that creates random and complex passwords for you. You can find many password generators online or as extensions for your browser. You can customize the length and the type of characters you want in your password. For example, you can use a password generator to create a password like "qZ5#pR8@wX3%tY7!".

4 How to remember a strong password

One of the challenges of creating a strong password is remembering it. You should not write down your password on a piece of paper or store it on your computer or phone, as these can be lost, stolen, or hacked. You should also not rely on your browser or device to remember your password for you, as these can be compromised or accessed by others. Instead, you should use a password manager, which is a software that securely stores and encrypts your passwords for different accounts and devices. You only need to remember one master password to access your password manager. You can also use a password manager to generate and change your passwords regularly.

5 How to protect a strong password

Creating a strong password is not enough to ensure your digital security and privacy. You also need to protect your password from being stolen or exposed. To do this, use a different password for each account or device, change your password periodically, and use two-factor authentication (2FA) when available. Additionally, avoid using public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks to access your accounts or devices, and be wary of phishing emails or messages that request you to provide or confirm your password or personal information. Never click on suspicious links or attachments, and always check the sender's address and the website's URL before entering your password.

6 How to test a strong password

Finally, you can test how strong your password is by using a password checker, which is a tool that evaluates the strength and security of your password based on its length, complexity, and randomness. You can find many password checkers online or as extensions for your browser. A password checker can give you an estimate of how long it would take for a hacker to crack your password, and suggest ways to improve it. However, you should not use a password checker to test your actual password, as this can expose it to potential risks. Instead, you should use a similar or dummy password to test the strength and security of your password.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?