Creating a strong password is one of the most basic things that one must be aware of while one is online. But people have a habit of choosing ease over security and as a result, they choose trivial passwords which are easy to remember. This is the reason why password strings like “123456” and “password” are so commonly used.
Finding the sweet spot between a strong password and an easily remember-able is the key. Passwords should of such nature which cannot be cracked easily. Passwords, which can be cracked easily, are a vulnerability which needs to be fixed as soon as possible. If not fixed, then chances are that your online life will become a nightmare. But, how do we create strong passwords? Read the tips below to find out!
Don’t use commonly used passwords
Never use passwords which are commonly used. This means you shouldn’t use simple words like “password” or number sequences like “123456”. Avoid using your phone numbers as you password as most likely, they can be guessed by anyone who knows your phone number. Also, avoid keeping your date and year of your birthday as passwords.
Create strong passwords using a string of alphabets, symbols, and numerals
Using a combination of letters, numerals, and symbols is always a good option as they are much more difficult to crack. Use of upper and lower cases in your passwords is another such step necessary in the creation of a strong password since most of the websites and services are case sensitive. Make your password as random and as foolish-looking as you can. Such foolish-sounding passwords are the once who will protect your online accounts from any intrusion.
The Bruce Schneier Method
This password creation method, put forward by Mr. Bruce Schneier, finds its relevance even today! The idea is simple. Take a sentence and convert it into a password, just like a mnemonic. The sentence can be anything which you can easily remember.
This solves the problems of keeping a strong as well as an easily rememberable password. For example: Take the sentence, I prefer trousers over jeans these days. The password could be “IPTOJTD”. You could also consider replacing the words like “O” and “I” with numerals “0” (zero) and “1” respectively. This makes the password much harder to guess.
The PAO method
The Person-Action-Object (PAO) is another great way of keeping a balance between an easily remember-able and a strong password. This method gained limelight after featuring in “Moonwalking with Einstein, a bestselling book by Joshua Foer.
This method required you to select the image an interesting place (like Mt. Everest). Thereafter, select the image of a familiar face (ex. Megan Fox). Now, associate the famous person with the place doing something unusual or interesting. For example, Megan Fox climbing Mt. Everest in a bikini. This should give you a good password, which is, MFCMEIAB. In this method also, you can toggle the case and use numerals instead of some alphabets to create a stronger password.
Keep changing your passwords
Last but not the least, you must not keep the same passwords for a longer period of time. Chances are that they may become known to some other person or that you may have accidently clicked on “remember me” option on someone else’s computer or even worse on a public computer. Thus, it is always advised that you must treat your passwords like your underwear and keep changing them regularly.
Endnote
Passwords are the key to your entire life in today’s technology driven world. Leakage somewhere of your password may open you up to a series of attacks on your personal as well as professional life. Thus, knowing the correct method to create strong passwords remains one of the deepest concerns in the cyber world. The readers need to follow the methods given above so that their security and privacy is not compromised with. Stay safe!
