How can you create a strong password?

Having strong passwords is important because they make it much more difficult for unauthorized individuals to access your accounts or systems. A strong password, which includes a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols, adds a layer of security by making it harder for someone to guess or break the password through various attacks. This is essential for protecting personal information, sensitive data, and digital assets, ultimately enhancing overall cybersecurity and reducing the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.

I’m today’s world, Passwords are used everywhere whether it is personal, official, business or any other digital account. Passwords and their strength and use cases depend on the context they are being used, for example password or passcode of your iPhone should be something you can remember easily as you would need to accomplish a simple task like unlock your phone, however for a business application it may not be simple. Passwords are digital keys that unlock the doors to our online lives, and their importance cannot be overstated. They serve as the first line of defense against unauthorized access, safeguarding our personal information, financial assets, and digital identities.

Hackers have tools that automatically try out all possible character combinations, test entire dictionaries including common combinations of words and attached numbers, or try out access data published on the Internet for all possible services. To prevent this, a password should meet certain quality requirements and only ever be used for one access. In addition, passwords are not just used to protect confidential data. An example: It is now common for people to be able to create an account or access (account) with different providers on the Internet. Logging into this account is protected with a password. What could happen if someone logs in there under your name?

At the risk of stating the obvious, almost every aspect of daily life now involves having your personal and or sensitive data residing online. Data of that kind is very valuable to different categories of threat actors, and who are constantly 'improving' their techniques to crack or bypass passwords. Many security incidents around the world have shown that passwords are not immune to vulnerabilities and risks, but still, having strong passwords remains indispensable. In all simplicity, strong passwords are anyone's first protective measure against intrusion attempts and the consequences of having one's personal and sensitive information accessed by a person or people not authorized to do so.

Strong passwords are crucial for protecting your online accounts and sensitive information. They act as the first line of defense against unauthorized access. A strong password should be long, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using easily guessable information like names or birth dates. Regularly update your passwords and use different passwords for different accounts. Strong passwords make it significantly harder for cybercriminals to breach your accounts, ensuring better protection of your personal and professional data.

You should use phrases or full sentences, like: +M@ny-Pe0ple>@re_toO+L4zy._2_T#ink! ;-) here also a expert tip: take a sentence and use only the beginning letter -> MPa2l2think2023!

A strong password can be "shorter and complex" or "long and less complex". But how long and how complex should it be at least? The following examples provide guidance: A password is secure if, for example, it is ?? 20 to 25 characters long and two types of characters are used (for example a sequence of words). It is then long and less complex. ?? 8 to 12 characters long and four types of characters are used. It is then shorter and complex. ?? 8 characters long, three types of characters are used and it is additionally secured by multi-factor authentication (for example by a fingerprint, confirmation via app or a PIN). This is generally recommended.

Use a Mix of Characters: Include a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (such as !, @, #, $, etc.).

A strong password is more than just a random set of characters; it's your best defense against unauthorized access. Using a combination of 12+ characters, including upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols, can dramatically decrease vulnerability. Research shows that adding just one more character to a password can exponentially increase its security. What strategies do you use to create complex passwords?

Long - the more characters the better Complex - symbols, numbers, special characters, capitals Unique - every password you have should be different

?????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????????????? ??????????! Let′s face it, managing passwords can feel like tackling a sink full of dirty dishes daily, especially without the right tools. When creating strong passwords, it's easy to fall back on something like [??????]????????????%, a small step up from ????????????????????????. Stay alert and secure! Customizable password policies helps achieving Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Enforce a minimum length, enable password expiration, and prevent password reuse to strengthen your security posture. ?? In AWS, we can craft these policies via the CLI, Management Console, or API. And use AWS Secrets Manager to securely store and automatically rotate credentials!!

Creating strong passwords have long been advised as one of the best ways to safeguard information, however using "passphrases" are actually better. They're easier to remember but more difficult for cybercriminals to guess. Passwords often include personal information such as birth year, location or alumni school name that can all be discovered through social engineering so passphrases offer additional security as the phrase is unique and would be something only you would know about yourself.

For years, creating strong passwords has been the gold standard for protecting our digital lives. However, "passphrases" are now emerging as a more secure alternative. Unlike traditional passwords, which often use easily guessed personal details, passphrases combine unrelated words into a memorable yet complex sequence. This makes them not only harder for cybercriminals to crack but also easier for you to recall. For example, "BlyeElephantDancW$@M!dnIght" is meaningful to you, yet nearly impossible for others to guess, adding an extra layer of security to your online presence.

I don't bother creating passwords. I let my password manager create them for me. You can often set parameters around what characters it will use.

The first step to creating a strong password is knowing what needs to be avoided. 1. Obvious, common, or easily guessable passwords. For example the name of a football team etc. 2. Personal information. For example names of family members, birth dates... 3. Common dictionary words or predictable patterns. For example ‘qwerty’, ‘default’, ‘default123’. The second step is knowing what makes up a strong password. Length: a minimum of 13 characters, even longer. Complexity: a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols / special characters. Uniqueness: using a different password for each and every online account or service you use, and never reusing or sharing passwords across two or more accounts.

Standalone password manager program Once standalone programs have been activated and set up, a pop-up window appears when a user name and password are required to use an online service. A centrally stored master password must then be entered to protect all access data. Password manager integrated in the browser Many web browsers already offer an integrated password manager that can be used without much effort. Once set up, it acts independently and the program is activated when a website is accessed if access data is required there. However, since browsers are complex programs that do not treat this issue as a top priority, the access data can be extracted relatively easily by malware and thus misused by an attacker.

Even the strongest passwords are useless if not managed properly. A reliable password manager is essential for storing and generating unique passwords for each account, reducing the risk of password fatigue and reuse. How do you ensure your passwords are securely managed across devices?

Don't forget to use different passwords for different accounts. This way, if one password is compromised, not all your accounts are at risk.

I would recommend playing around with well-reputed password strength testing tools (for example the one by Bitwarden). They indicate the length of time it would take to crack a password, which ranges from less than a second (very weak) to centuries (very strong). Do it at a time when you don't need a password there and then. Experiment with different passwords; different lengths, complexities and randomness. After putting a few in the password strength tester, you'll understand what makes up a hard-to-crack password or passphrase. This way, when the time comes for you to compose a password that you need for an account, you'll have understood what's necessary, and won't need to put your actual password(s) on the strength checker.

Before finalizing a password, it's wise to test its strength using trusted tools. However, avoid entering real passwords into online checkers to prevent potential misuse. Instead, test similar versions to assess their robustness. What methods do you use to evaluate the strength of your passwords?

Better to avoid words which are found in the dictionary when creating a password. Which might be easily compromised in a dictionary attack. Creating a 10-12 character password with a proper combination is much secure than creating long password with some words.

Don't Use Personal Information in Password: Avoid using easily accessible information like your name, birthdate, family members' names, or other personal details.

Some people suggest using passphrases for your passwords. Why? Are you going to remember all your passwords because they are passphrases? Probably not, so you'll still need a password manager, in which case you might as well let it create the passwords for you. But, use a passphrase to get into your password manager. Make it a good one, and use MFA as well!

While strong passwords are vital, integrating them with multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an additional layer of security. MFA can thwart unauthorized access even if a password is compromised. Do you use MFA alongside strong passwords for enhanced security?