This article shows you how to create a password that is unique and strong yet easy to remember.
Steps
Step 1. Find out the information that should not be used to create a password
Before choosing what to use to create a password, it is good to list the information that should never be used:
- Names of pets, relatives or friends
- Words that appear in the dictionaries of programs used to crack passwords (for example the word "c @ st3ll0" is fine, while "castello" is not);
- Personal information (e.g. phone number or date of birth);
- Information in the public domain (for example, something that relates to the activities you do in your free time and which is easy for anyone to trace);
- Acronyms.
Step 2. Find out what the components of a strong and secure password are
Using all of the following to create your password will be extremely difficult to crack:
- Uppercase and lowercase letters;
- Numbers;
- Symbols;
- It must be at least 12 characters long;
- At first glance it must not be immediately convertible into a meaningful word or phrase.
Step 3. Consider using the most popular algorithms for creating a password
If you don't have your own method to use to create a password, you can try using one of the following:
- Remove all vowels of a word or phrase (for example the phrase "Hello darkness my old friend" would become "cscrtmvcchmc");
- Use a key pattern (for example, instead of typing the word "wikiHow", for each letter press the key located below or to the right of the original one);
- Use a code (for example a page number, the line of a paragraph and the word of a book);
- Double the password (for example type the password you created then add a space or a separator character and then type again).
Step 4. Choose to use a compound word or phrase that is relevant to you
It is very likely that there are several words, a phrase, a title (for example a movie, a music album or a book) or something similar that for some reason you remember very easily. This type of information is perfect to be the basis of a password because it is only important to you, but not to all other people.
- For example, you can choose to use your favorite song from a specific album or the phrase you liked the most from one of the books you love.
- But make sure you don't choose a famous word or phrase that is known to the whole world.
Step 5. Choose the method to use to create your password
You can choose to use one of the creation procedures described in the previous steps (for example by removing all vowels from a known sentence) or you can create one from scratch.
Some experts also recommend identifying several random words to join together and use as a password (for example "bananacaffèspoonphonephonecanegatto")
Step 6. Replace the letters with your favorite numbers
If you have a lucky number (or more than one), you can use it to replace a specific letter (or more than one) within the password.
Make sure you are not using discounted replacement schemes (for example the number 1 for the letter "l" or the number 4 for the letter "a", etc.)
Step 7. Add your favorite character to the password
If there is a character or symbol on your keyboard that you love to use, add it as a prefix to your password so you can remember it more easily.
This step is a mandatory requirement for creating the login password for most existing services or websites
Step 8. Add an abbreviation that refers to the context in which you will be using the password you are creating
For example, if you need to create a new password to log into your work mailbox, you could add the words "work email" (or "ml lvr", etc.) as a suffix. This way you can use the same word or phrase as the basis for all the passwords you need to create, but get different results for each of the accounts you need to protect.
It is very important not to use the same password to protect multiple accounts (for example not to use the Facebook password for the e-mail account as well)
Step 9. Consider doubling the password you got
If you have created a password consisting of only 8 characters and the account it needs to protect (for example Facebook) allows you to use passwords consisting of at least 16 characters, you can solve the problem by simply typing it twice.
In this case, to raise the security level, hold down the ⇧ Shift key on your keyboard while typing the password for the second time (for example the password "h @ r0ldh @ r0ld" would become "h @ r0ldHçR = LD")
Step 10. Create variations of the password you got
Adding as a suffix an abbreviation of the service or context to which the password is linked is useful for remembering it better, however you will need to change it regularly. If you're happy with the password you've created, try typing it while holding down the ⇧ Shift key on your keyboard, or capitalize some of the letters in it.
If you have chosen to replace some letters with numbers, you could restore the original letters and choose to replace others with the same numbers
Advice
- If you mentally repeat the letters and numbers that make up the password as you type them, you will memorize them quickly and quickly.
- By combining the techniques described in the guide, you will still be able to obtain a very strong password that is easy to remember.
- The most secure passwords are made up of a series of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. Create a standard rule that, for example, always capitalizes the first four characters or the characters from the third to the seventh or whatever you prefer according to a predefined pattern. This way you won't have to waste time memorizing them.
- If you want to use a specific phrase to trace your password, try to choose one that is fun and specific to your interests. This will make it much easier to remember the corresponding phrase and password.
Warnings
- Do not use any of the passwords that were used as an example throughout the article. Most likely they are already known to a large number of users, so some bad guys might guess it. Create your passwords using the criteria described in the steps.
- Do not use a combination of numbers that represents real personal information, for example a telephone number, house number, date of birth, etc.
- Make sure you don't reuse passwords you've used in the past. You may be tempted to use only one or two passwords for all of your accounts, but in theory you should have a specific password for each of these, especially for profiles related to sensitive or personal information (such as home banking or email).
