How to Set a Secure Password

As users of all things digital, we are often faced with a few dilemmas that are seemingly complex. One of them has to do with setting a password for the various tools we access on a daily basis.  Setting a password involves two challenges. Firstly, it needs to be secure. Secondly, it needs to be a password that can be recollected by memory. After all, we may not all have the luxury of being blessed with a photographic memory.

In the recent past, we have seen so many breaches take place that it’s becoming obvious how important a secure password is. Your life could take a turn for the worse, thanks to a weak password.

So, how does one create and establish a secure a password? Well, if you’ve been looking for an answer, you’ve come to the right place.  Read on to learn more.

What a Strong Password Looks Like

A generally accepted fact is that longer passwords are harder to break. Ideally, a minimum of 12 characters should do. However, what matter is also what these 12 characters are. Using names of people, places or even 12 letter words is a bad idea. It needs to be mixed up. For instance, you can try adding special characters to a string of numbers or use variations. Variations can include alternating between capitalized letters and smaller letters or even changing the original spelling.

Doing any of the above- mentioned things can greatly increase the chances of your password being cracked by hackers. The trick is to be as unusual as possible because today’s average hacker uses advanced techniques to crack passwords.

The kinds of passwords that most users use are extremely vulnerable to being cracked. For example, investigations concerning the recent Adobe hack found that some of the passwords were so easy to crack that even a layman could do it. This included passwords such as “11111” or “12345” etc.

There are several ways to generate complex passwords. A popular utility that was developed by Bruce Schneier called Password Safe will allow you to safely and easily create a secured and encrypted user name/password list.

Remembering a Password

The simplest way to remember all your complex passwords is by signing up for a password management service such as LastPass. With these services, all you have to do is just remember one primary password (this needs to be complex too) to access your other saved passwords. You just have to memorize one password.

Also, password managers today are very effective. They integrate with your browsers and mobile devices to save access time.

But, whatever you do, never use the same password for multiple accounts. Have a unique password for each account. That way even if one account is compromised, the others will stay safe.