How to Create Strong Password to Easily Remember it

• It is 8-14 characters long
• Has at least one uppercase letter
• At least one number
• Has at least one special character (#, @, etc. )
• Is not easily guessable (like your pet’s name)

Rule of thumb says if your password meets the above criteria, it is indeed a “strong” password.

Do’s and Don’ts

In the section above, you have seen the features of a strong password. But, even if your password checks all the boxes, it might not be as secure as you’d hoped it.

For example, this password, “P@ssword123,” ticks all the right boxes. But is not the most secure password you can create. The placement of numbers “123” is at the end, that is a very common password pattern. Swapping ‘A’ for ‘@’ is clever but is easily guessable. Finally, the word “Password” is one of the most common passwords, ever. So, it is probably a good idea to steer clear of that one.

Thankfully, there are some ways to create a strong password, that would be hard to crack. However, securing your account is not only about creating a strong password. There are also many things you have to keep in mind.

Do’s

• Turn on Two Factor Authentication: Most major websites or applications now support Two Factor Authentication. It also requires the hacker to have access to your secondary login method. Like your phone, as well as your primary password to get into your account.
•  Throw out the dictionary: Steer clear of using general words, names, or compounds of multiple, common words. Capitalizing alternately won’t be helpful if you keep on using common phrases or words.
• Use special symbols: Many websites even older Gmail do not encourage you to use numbers, capitalization, or other special characters. So, it is easy to take things lightly and use a weak password.
  If you are accessing a website that has access to premium content or sensitive data. Then make sure to always use symbols, numbers, and a good blend of upper and lower case letters. All of them add up to increase the complexity of your password.

 Don’ts

• Never re-use: Recycling passwords may be easy on your brain. But it puts your accounts at great risk. If you want your data to say secured, you gotta make time for creating new passwords.
• Encryption is your friend: If you are looking to shoot your passwords up to the cloud, ensure to encrypt them. Else, if your cloud account gets compromised, then all your passwords in that file also get exposed. So, be careful about that.

Tips for Creating Memorable Strong Password

So far, you have learned the importance of using a strong password and the things you should or should not do when creating one. However, we still have not covered the most interesting bit of the article the art of creating a super-strong password that you can easily remember.

Method 1: From a Sentence

American cryptographer, Bruce Schneier, popularized this password-creation method over a decade back. And it has convincingly stood the test of time. The logic here is basically simple for anyone to understand while remembering is also kind of convenient.

• Take one of your favorite quotes or song lyrics. Like, if you love Breaking Bad, you must remember Walter White’s famous “I am the one who knocks!”.
• Take the first letter from each word of your favorite sentence. Include punctuations (symbols), too. So, “I am the one who knocks!” becomes “Iatowk!”
• We must also add numbers into the mix. Such as, Breaking Bad was released in 2008, that we can use in this scenario. But, we must be careful not to resort to a familiar password pattern. So, instead of putting the year at the end of the password, we break it down and attach them at either end.

Final password: “20Iatowk!08”

Method 2: Random Phrases to Create Strong Password

Passphrases are generally harder to crack than traditional one-worded passwords. However, with the evolution of modern-day computers, it has become quite difficult to keep a passphrase that the system won’t easily hunt down using the Dictionary method. Also, you’re also required to steer clear of common passphrases, which are easily recognizable.

• This method requires you to come up with a random passphrase or a string of random words. Either of “Ronaldo ducks out flying UFOs” or “Lost Time Chair Input Doctor School Car” would do. The key difference between passwords and passphrases is that the former doesn’t contain spaces.
• After picking your phrase, add a couple of symbols and numbers into the mix.
  For example: “Lost Time Chair Input Doctor School Car” becomes “Lo$t Tim3 Chair Input Doctor School CaR”

Method 3: Person Action-Object to Create Strong Password

The Person-Action-Object (PAO) method is another fun way of creating passwords or passphrases. And just like the other two methods preceding it, PAO, too, is extremely secure.

The human brain has a knack for remembering the most bizarre incidents, and the PAO method counts on the same to create memorable passwords.

• Pick a person, an object, and link those two using an action. For example, “Michael Jackson eating an airplane in Florida”.
• Add numbers and symbols to the passphrase to complete or take a couple of letters off each word and fuse them together to create a password. Example: “Michael Jacks0n e@ting an airplan3 in Florida” or “20MiJae@anaiinFl20”

The Practically of such method to Create Strong Password

Having gone through the three different methods, you are probably already looking forward to changing your important passwords, swapping them for the stronger ones. However, despite knowing the usefulness of these methods, we must check if they are practical for daily use or not.

Creating two, four, or seven unique passwords and memorizing them is not too difficult. However, repeating the process over and over is bound to take a toll on your memory. Fortunately, there are a couple of workarounds, that might come in handy.

Signup for a Password Manager

We are more than aware of the ever-increasing cyber threat. But the process of changing all our passwords and remembering them just seems a tad too hectic to us. Thankfully, developers have taken an instant look at the situation and have come up with dedicated apps. That helps you manage all your passwords under a single roof. These apps fill in the password field on your behalf. So, you do not have to bear the hassle of juggling multiple passwords. Just simply remember the master password of the password manager, and you are all set.

Mix it Up to Create Strong Password

If you are not looking to spread your hard-earned money on a password manager. Then you could go down a little less secure route and only bolster the services you deem to be sensitive. Such as, you could use unique, strong passwords on your banking or shopping websites. And keep a common password for other less important websites. However, be sure to make the common password as strong as possible.