How to Choose a Better Password

Most of us know that we need to pick a password that is harder to predict than password or abc123, but how do you choose a password that is both hard to predict yet easy to remember?

We don’t know about you, but our team of Productivity Consultants at Innovatively Organized got into a conversation recently where we realized that we all have a hard time remembering complicated random passwords. Plus, do you really want to type out G&6d4*V#f2z every day to check your email?

An easy trick to improve your passwords is to replace words with random characters like this: Ch@ract3r$.

But let’s do the math: that’s only 10 characters, it’s a common dictionary word, and since we can probably assume that hackers have heard of this trick, it’s possible they’ve written algorithms complex enough to eventually guess this password. And, you’d still have to remember which “a” was substituted with “@.”

Here’s what we suggest:
• String random words together
• Capital the first letter of each word
• Add some numbers (beginning, middle, or end)
• The longer the better, with a variety of numbers, letters, and symbols

Some examples to get you started:
• MyDogEats42?Slugs
• Chased!By86MaroonStaplers

Or try the multiple word method:
• Use a longer phrase that is easy to remember (like a song, poem, or quote)
• Use the first letter from each word to string into a password.

Example: Using the song “I’m A Little Tea Pot Short and Stout. Here Is My Handle, Here Is My Spout.” Creates: IALTPSASHIMHHIMS.

Hard to guess but easy to remember!

Additional resources

Comments

Thanks!

Submitted by Elizabeth Bowman on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 4:21pm.

Thank you for your comment. Great tip!

Password App

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 4:09pm.

Great tip on creating more secure passwords. This is really important! I have different passwords for pretty much everything to keep it as secure as possible, so I still can't remember them all even if I try to be clever and make it up, so I like to use the application 1Password (there are others out there too), which also syncs with the app for my phone. That way I always have my passwords with me. This program allows you to either create your own password or it will generate a highly secure password for you. Then you just have to remember one really good password to get into the program! 1Password will also store other important information like your passport, credit card, and license numbers. You then just have to copy and paste into the website to sign-in.

How to Choose a Better Password