How to Create a Secure Password (That You Can Also Remember)

Every cyber attack has a common goal, and that is data. Regardless of the motive behind accessing data, be it for financial gains, access to business secrets – data is always the ultimate goal. Password protects online data, but with the advancement of technology, hackers can easily crack the password and steal all the data.

Today, it's challenging to get by without having to create online password-protected accounts between work and private life. Cybersecurity experts recommend a unique password for each web page you visit. On the other hand, remembering strong and unique passwords for each site you access can be challenging. 

As a result, many of us may intentionally use the same password for several online accounts. Or develop weak passwords that are simple short words consisting of only four characters.

According to a survey, 65% of people use the same password across multiple online accounts. The only solution is to create a password that is not easy to hack.

But, how do you set up a strong password or passcode? This blog will walk you through our tips to create a strong password that you can also remember.

What Is a Strong Password?

Password strength is determined by how much computing power is required to crack a password. A strong password is one that a brute force attack can't break. Hackers use different computational methods to test different combinations of symbols, letters, and numbers to find the correct password.

Cyber security professionals suggest that users create long and complex passwords that are not easy to crack. A strong password typically contains a combination of letters, uppercase, and lowercase symbols and should be 12 characters or longer.

To better understand the definition of a strong password, let's go over some common practice that makes the password weak and put your security at risk:

• The weak password is easy to identify if it is related to a memorable event like birthdays, a combination of first or last name with birth year. These types of passwords are easy to hack—for example, Meghan1990.
• Generic passwords like 12345, password, princess, acb123, etc., are the most commonly used password. These are the examples of the most used passwords in the world and the least secured. 
• Many people often create passwords following sequential keyboard paths such as "qwerty." 

Ensure that you do not follow any of the above practices while creating a password.

How to Setup a Strong Password (That’s Also Memorable)

When creating an online account, you'll often get a prompt telling you that the password is weak and reminding you to include a combination of letters, special characters, or add numbers. The secret to creating a strong password that is easy to remember, hard to break, and unique is to focus on making it memorable and hard to guess. 

Here’s how to create a strong password you can remember:

• 12-Characters Password or Longer

The longer your password, the harder it's to crack. Use the variations of letters, capitalization, numbers, special characters.

Each additional symbol used in a password can increase the number of possible combinations making the password essentially unbreakable. 

• Use Bruce Schneier’s Method 

This method use technique to create a password from a sentence. The phrase can be personal and memorable for you, such as song lyrics or any memorable sentence. Take the words from the sentence and uniquely combine them to form a password: Here are a few examples:

Kego;d’8Chnurp@t = Keep going; don’t change your path

Ab82o_g0oN@trp = About to go on a trip 

• Use Random Words to Form a Phrase

Use four to five or more random words and combine them to create a passphrase. You can use any random words that are easy to remember, making your password secure. The words do not have to be grammatically correct or even make sense. For instance: Drums staple cat paid.

Passphrases are comparatively more secure than passwords because they are usually longer, making them harder for a hacker to guess or crack.

You can use emoticons (coded version) to create passwords to secure them further. You can also try using the dictionary method to create a password but make sure to use a combination of more than one word and string them all together with numbers special characters to make a strong password.

How to Secure Your Password?

Once you have created your very secure hard-to-crack password, one big and essential step is never to use the same password. You may be tempted to use the same password for all of your online accounts, making you more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Fortunately, you can use many different methods to solve this issue.

• Sign Up For a Password Manager

A secure password management tool creates, stores, and manages your passwords in one secure network account. Using a password manager is extremely handy because it lets you use multiple passwords without worrying about remembering them.

You can use a password manager like Authy to store your passwords to set up two-factor authentication. Authy is a civilized app that gives you a better choice of encrypted passwords that connect to your cloud, with a feature to restore a backup to your new phone. Some sites also offer Authy-specific integration.

You can also use LastPass and Google Authenticator for password management. 

• Don't Share Passwords.

It is essential to keep your passwords confidential. Someone who knows your password can easily change or delete your private information, gain access to your financial information, and damage your reputation. Moreover, sending your password via text message or email is not secure if someone may eavesdropping on it.

• Don't Store Passwords on Phones, PC, or Tablets.

It is imperative and may seem obvious, but avoid saving your passwords on your phone, emails, web notes, or anything that could be hacked. If your phone got stolen or got into the wrong hands, or you might be the victim of a SIM-swap attack, the hacker can easily hack into your phone and steal data and your passwords. 

Conclusion

Using all the tips and techniques in this article to create strong and memorable passwords is a good starting point to increase your security. In addition, we suggest our readers take a step further and secure their cell phone numbers from cyberattacks such as SIM Swapping. Efani offers military-grade protection against cyberthreats.

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