Toothbrush

“Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don't let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months. “(Clifford Stoll)

Most people are bad at coming up with passwords. Most of us tend to pick the same group of words, and we’re bad at remembering random strings of characters. Given today’s security threats, it’s understandable that sites try to force you to use more complicated passwords. Those systems often involve personal information (name of dog, year of birth, or exclamation mark at the end).

 The problem is that hackers can find your dog’s name on Instagram and try every variation you can imagine very quickly using software. The key takeaway for stronger passwords is that length and unpredictability are more important than wacky characters and other rules. Here are four simple tips (from Huntington Bank) for creating safer passwords:

 

1.     Add special characters and capital letters, but don’t put them at the beginning or end of the password.

2.     An unexpected four-word phrase similar to “SampleReductionEastPronounce” is actually tougher to crack than any random 8-character password.

3.     Check your password’s strength with the Carnegie Mellon password meter.

4.     Lie on security questions. Those personal details (mother’s maiden name, etc.) can often be easy to find online through social media.

Click to teach Gmail this conversation is important.
Click to teach Gmail this conversation is important.

 “Sorry, but your password must contain an uppercase letter, a number, a haiku, a gang sign, a hieroglyph, and the blood of a virgin.” (Somee Cards)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “4 Steps to Help Make Your Passwords Safer from Hacking” by Huntington Bank

·        “How to Create a Strong Password” by Nick Douglas