How to Build Strength Password
To create a strong password, you should use a string of text
that mixes numbers, letters that are both lowercase and uppercase, and special
characters. It should be eight characters, preferably many more. A lot more.
The characters should be random, and not follow from words, alphabetically, or
from your keyboard layout.
So how do you make such a password?
- Spell a word backwards. (Example: Turn "New York" into "kroywen.")
- Use l33t speak: Substitute numbers for certain letters. (Example: Turn "kroywen" into "kr0yw3n.")
- Randomly throw in some capital letters. (Example: Turn "kr0yw3n" into "Kr0yw3n.")
- Don't forget the special character. (Example: Turn "Kr0yw3n" into "Kr0yw3^.")
You don't have to go for the obvious and use "0"
for "o," or "@" for "a," or "3" for
"e," either. As long as your replacement makes sense to you, that's
all that matters. A "^" for an "n" makes sense to me.
Other Tips
Choose something simple to remember as a password, but
whenever you type it, put your fingers on the wrong keys—maybe one key to the
left or right. Then a password like "kroywen" becomes
"jeitqwb" or "ltpuerm." This is only going to work for
non-perfectionist touch-typists. And skip this tip if you type passwords on
your phone; you'll only sprain a thumb trying to be inaccurate instead of
letting the inaccuracy flow naturally.
Another option is to pick a pattern on the keyboard and type
based on that. For example, a counter-clockwise spin around the letter d could
result in "rewsxcvf." Throw in some random caps and numbers to really
lock it down.
Perhaps the easiest thing to remember is an acronym from a
phrase of your choice. "We didn't start the fire, it was always
burning" becomes "wdstfiwab" based on the first letters of each
word.
Remember, the longer the password, the stronger it is.
Always. Something more than 15 characters is very difficult to remember, but
it'll be a breeze with a mnemonic.
Third-Party Passwords
If you don't trust yourself to create an unbreakable
password, there are plenty of tools that will make one for you. The PC ToolsSecure Password Generator, for example, makes one based on your criteria: how
long, include (or don't) mixed case, numbers, punctuation, similar character
replacement, etc. It even provides a phonetic pronunciation guide that you use
as your mantra while typing the password, for example:
MA7ApUp# is MIKE - ALPHA - seven -
ALPHA - papa - UNIFORM - papa – hash
Password Testing
If you're worried that your password of choice isn't strong
enough, check it at How Secure is My Password?. The site will even tell you how
long the average PC would take to crack it. For example, cracking
"kroywen" would take 13 minutes, "kr0yw3n" would take about
2 hours, "Kr0yw3^" 15 days, and "MA7ApUp#" about 3 years.
You can tell from these results that mixing capital and
small letters are better for strength and more characters (eight instead of
seven) also make a huge difference. Adding a single capital letter to the end
of "Kr0yw3^," such as "Kr0yw3nZ," boosts the crack time to
3 years. Throw another special character in ("Kr0yw3^Z!") and it
jumps to 237 years.
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