A secure password is the first line of defense for protecting your data. The easier and more simple the password the quicker hackers and crackers will break it. So the more important and valued your data is the more secure your passwords should be. In theory, the best thing is to have a different password for every website, email account, etc. In practice, however, that can be very hard to do, but there are third-party software that will store your passwords and make it a little more manageable. Let's go through the steps of creating a secure password that will protect your important data. Following the rules below will result in a secure password.
One of the tools hackers use when trying to crack passwords is a dictionary attack so staying away from proper names and using misspelled words are meant to help protect the password against such an attack. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but here are a few little tricks I use when coming up with passwords for myself.
Think of two things you like (foods, clothing, brands, videogames, etc.) those are your 2 words
Misspell the words ie. grey turns into grehy.
Break the words in two and flip the letters around i.e. gryeh.
Look for re-occuring letters and capitalize all occurences to make it easier to remember.
Substitute numbers for a letter in each of the words.
Even with these tips, it will take some time at first to generate your own secure passwords, but this is very important so make the effort to start creating secure password(s). As an example, using green % wolfpack turns into gRn33%w0flKC4p, a 14 character password that took me about 5 minutes to create.
Now if you want to find third-party software to store your secure passwords, the iMore Blog has comaprison article called Best password manager apps for iPhone and iPad: 1Password, oneSafe, LastPass, and more! | iMore.com.
I know that 1Password, which is mentioned in the article, has an app for both Windows and Mac. It's what I use, but there are other options out there. There are also threads in the forums on just that topic so do a search and you will find a good source of options.
- Your password should be at least 10 -12 characters long.
- Two words separated by a non-alphanumeric character (!@#$%^()&*).
- Atypical capitalization for the words.
- Misspelled words.
- Substitute numbers for letters i.e. 3 for e, 4 for a, 0 (zero) for an o, etc.
- Do not use anything pertaining to yourself or loved ones i.e. nicknames, date of birth, children's names, etc.
One of the tools hackers use when trying to crack passwords is a dictionary attack so staying away from proper names and using misspelled words are meant to help protect the password against such an attack. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but here are a few little tricks I use when coming up with passwords for myself.
Think of two things you like (foods, clothing, brands, videogames, etc.) those are your 2 words
Misspell the words ie. grey turns into grehy.
Break the words in two and flip the letters around i.e. gryeh.
Look for re-occuring letters and capitalize all occurences to make it easier to remember.
Substitute numbers for a letter in each of the words.
Even with these tips, it will take some time at first to generate your own secure passwords, but this is very important so make the effort to start creating secure password(s). As an example, using green % wolfpack turns into gRn33%w0flKC4p, a 14 character password that took me about 5 minutes to create.
Now if you want to find third-party software to store your secure passwords, the iMore Blog has comaprison article called Best password manager apps for iPhone and iPad: 1Password, oneSafe, LastPass, and more! | iMore.com.
I know that 1Password, which is mentioned in the article, has an app for both Windows and Mac. It's what I use, but there are other options out there. There are also threads in the forums on just that topic so do a search and you will find a good source of options.
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