How to Create a Strong Password [Ultimate Guide]

So you’ve been told to create a strong password.

But what does that mean? How can you do it? 

Websites get hacked often, and hackers often steal passwords to access sensitive information. A strong password can help prevent this from happening.

Understand the Basics of Password Security

Password security starts with using a strong password.

A password is a series of characters, numbers, and symbols that you enter to gain access to your account.

If your password is easy for you to remember, then a thief can guess it.

The thief accesses your account, steals your information, and uses it to commit fraud or other crimes.

Using a strong password is the best way to keep your account secure, but there are several ways to use a password to make it harder for thieves.

Here are the five basic elements of a strong password:

Develop a Password Creation System

The password you use can be just 10 characters long, and it could be “123”. Or it could be “Password123”. Or it could be “Password1234567890”.

The complexity and length of your password is incredibly important. But without good password creation rules, even the best password won’t keep you safe.

When creating a password, you should follow some basic rules:

1. Choose a password that is at least 8 characters long.
2. Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
3. Use a combination of lower and uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
4. Change your password on a regular basis.
5. Don’t reuse passwords across accounts.

When creating your password, follow these 4 simple rules, and your chances of making it past password security are much higher than if you’d ignored them.

Make the Password Longer

Length isn’t everything, but it’s often a good, simple starting point. Generally, longer passwords are more secure than shorter ones. Longer passwords also make your password harder to crack with brute-force algorithms.

That said, long passwords aren’t always easier to remember.

To strike a balance between security and accessibility, consider using a password generator. These utilities can generate random passwords of varying lengths that are easy to remember.

Add Complexity

Your password should be long, unique, and difficult to guess. But there’s more you can do to make your passwords secure.

One thing you can do is add complexity. For example, instead of just capitalizing the first letter, use special characters to make your password even harder to crack.

In that case, you could create a password like “AaBbCaCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZzAbcBCaCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz1AbcBCaCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz1” , which is much longer but isn’t identical.

This complexity makes your password more difficult to crack, even if it’s only one letter longer.

Another thing you can do is use punctuation. This adds another level of complexity, since the password must be read as a whole.

Avoid Common Passwords

A password should be memorable, but not so memorable that it’s easy for an attacker to guess. That’s why you should avoid using common pass phrases, birthdays, or commonly used words.

Now, you won’t want to use the same password for every account that you create, but you should avoid using the same password for sites that you regularly use.

For example, don’t use “password” or “qwerty” for a bank or email account that you use frequently.

If you’re creating an account with a password that you don’t typically use, change it at the end of every month.

Don’t Reuse Passwords

One of the most common mistakes people make is reusing passwords. It’s convenient, but it’s risky.

If you reuse a password, it’s easy for someone to gain access. Why? Because any hacker who obtains the password can then try other websites where you have used the same password.

The more sites you reuse a password on, the easier it will be for hackers to find and steal your password.

Keep Your Passwords Secure

Creating strong passwords is not enough. You also need to keep them secure. You should never write your passwords down, and you should never share them with anyone. You should also never reuse your passwords.

You should never share your password with anyone who might ask for it. For example, if you give someone your account information, they might use that information to access your account.

You should never reuse your password. For example, if a thief accesses an account that another user created, the thief might access that account.

You should change your password regularly. For example, set a password change reminder in your calendar. This will remind you to change your password regularly.

Use a Password Manager

Password managers are programs that save passwords for you. They also have secure passwords and random password generation.

If you have trouble remembering passwords, using a password manager is one of the safest ways to save your passwords.

But, password managers have their downsides as well. For example, password managers sometimes have security vulnerabilities.

Password managers can also make your passwords harder to remember. That’s why many people use password managers, but they still recommend choosing a strong password.

Change Your Password Regularly

Passwords are one of the most sensitive types of information you possess. This is why you should avoid reusing passwords at all costs.

However, even with the right password, there are steps you can take to increase password security. This includes changing the password regularly.

Whenever you log in to your account, you should immediately change your password. This will ensure that your account remains as secure as possible.

Think of your password as the key to your house. If you don’t change the lock on your door, it becomes an easy target for burglars. Think of your password the same way, but for your bank account.

You usually don’t hold on to a key for 15 years. It’s far more likely that you’ll change your car or house keys at least once every two years. So, why would you hold on to a password for almost the same amount of time?

You should change your online passwords on a frequent basis. This could be as often as once a month, but frequent updates are even more important for online accounts.

FAQ

We hope this guides was off assistance for how to create a strong password.