When creating an account on any website, you're inevitably faced with a dilemma: provide a weak but easy-to-remember password, or a strong password that you're likely to forget. Following the guidelines and rules mentioned in this article will help you practice good password security. They have been tried and tested successfully by many internet users and it is highly recommended that you keep an eye on them.
The Anatomy of a Good Password
Here's how to come up with a strong password that won't be forgotten in ten minutes:
- Avoid using short passwords.
Use a password with at least 10 characters. The more characters a password has, the longer it will take for hackers to crack it. - make them complicated.
Password strength can be achieved by including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. The more of them the better. - Use a password manager.
Long passwords are hard to remember, especially when you use different passwords for each website or service. You can use the powerful password manager (E.g NordPass) to help you organize your various login details. - Create mnemonic.
If you don't like tools for managing passwords, create memorable phrases and make sure they're relevant to the website or service you'll be using them for. For example, if you sign up for a VPN service to avoid Public Wi-Fi network risk of cybercrime on the Internet, you can create a sentence like "I like to use NordVPN to protect my money" and use it as a mnemonic for the password "Il2uNV2pm$$$." It includes all four types of characters, complexity, length Moderate and easy to remember. - Using a password (Diceware method).
While dictionary words are not recommended (see tips for avoiding weak passwords below), creating a combination of 6-7 random words is a great way to protect your account. Still, randomness is key. The human brain is very bad at stringing together really random words, so EFF website A numbered list of words is provided. You roll a traditional game dice, and the numbers that appear will choose words for you. Combinations like "Right Zebra Chic Ultramarine Football Piece" are extremely difficult to guess because of their length and randomness, but fairly easy to remember. - Use a password generator.
try to use NordPass Random Password Generator to increase password strength and create strong and unique passwords. With this tool, you can create passwords from 8 to 60 characters and use filters to add or avoid certain characters. Then just copy your passwords directly into your NordPass password manager.
Simply following these tips will be a huge improvement and instantly increase your password strength. This is especially important for online banking and other financially sensitive websites.
Avoid weak passwords
If you've ever asked yourself "how strong is my password," it must be emphasized: none of the following should be included in your password, not even one of several components.
- the "name" part of the username;
- the names of friends, family members, pets, especially your own;
- Personal information about your family members or yourself. This includes general information that is readily available, such as phone numbers, dates of birth, street names, license plate numbers, house/apartment numbers, etc.;
- A series of consecutive letters, numbers, or keyboard keys, such as "qwerty", "12345", "abcde", etc.;
- A word or combination of words in a dictionary, such as "blackdog";
- Obvious substitutions such as "blackd0g";
- Any of the above in reverse;
- Blank password.
Password common sense
Creating strong passwords is critical, but it's only the first step in improving your security. The way you manage your passwords is more important in the future. Often, people know the key rules, but somehow they tend toignore them. Let this list be a friendly reminder that will help you keep your private information safe.
- Create a unique password each time.
When you change the password for any account, it should not be the same as any previous password. Oh, and don't even think about setting the same password on different websites. Although it's temporary, try to resist and create unique passwords for each account. - Change passwords for all existing accounts at least every 6 months.
Since passwords are of fixed length, brute force attacks to crack passwords will always succeed given enough processing power and time. Therefore, regular password changes are strongly recommended. Schedule your calendar to remind you to change your password every 6 months. - Do not share your password with anyone.
This includes your family and friends. Also, never send an email with your password in the text. sometimes,Hackers send emails posing as customer support agents and ask for your username and password. Legitimate organizations or websites will never ask for your username and password via email. - If your password is compromised, change it immediately.
Even if you just suspect someone may have stolen your password, change it immediately. Every minute counts. - Do not use the "remember password" browser option without setting a master password.
If you don't set a master password in your browser, anyone using it can see the stored plain text password. - Avoid entering passwords on other people's devices.
This is especially important for bank websites and business accounts. It is a common practice for hackers to log all keystrokes, which allows them to see everything you type, including your login information.
Strong passwords are only part of your online defense, use NordVPN protect yourself!