I am going to show you the best method for creating a secure password. I am also going to explain a lot of things about passwords. Your memory is not good enough to remember a strong password ? Don`t worry, there are techniques that will make you remember everything. Let`s get started.
The golden rule: DO NOT create a password using words or numbers that can match you, such as:
- your name
- names of your family members
- pet names
- date of birth`s
That`s the first area that will be targeted, if someone is going to try guessing your password he is going to try anything that will create a connection with you and I mean everything:
- your name
- family names
- friends names
- date of births`s
- favourite places
Etc...etc...etc...
How do we prevent someone from guessing a password ? It`s very easy, by using a technique that will allow you to create a powerful password.
For example:
tom123 - it`s a weak password
123tom - it`s the same thing
t1o9m90 - now that`s a good password
Here`s how I did it. Let`s assume that my name is Tom and I was born in 1990. In order to create a strong password I would use something to help me to remember my password. It could be my date of birth, actually the year. But `tom1990` it`s not good enough. However t1o9m90 it`s great...
TIP: This is a good password for keeping your friends away from your email password or any other but do not use it for military secrets or bank accounts
Let`s investigate this further:
We suppose that your lucky number is : 15
Your favourite car is : ferrari
Your favourite color is: blue
A combination between those would result in :
15ferrariblue
Again, for a simple email password it should provide a decent security but not enough in my opinion. If I wanted a stronger password containing those 2 words and the lucky number I would use this password:
1ferrblueari5
Using your mind you could create powerful passwords by using common names and favourite words. The rule is simple, combine those words with numbers and if possible add at least one special character such as: ~!@#$%^&*()_+
A lot of experts recommends the use of special characters. I will provide an example :
My name is David and I would like to create an unbreakable password. I am aware that this password will make the difference so I need a password that it will be long enough but very easy to remember for me.
I will use this word: invincible
I will use those numbers: 0123456789
I will use those special characters: ~!@#$%^&*(
Should I use a password like this ?
invincible0123456789~!@#$%^&*(
It would be ok for some passwords but not for me, I want a better one so here it is :
i0~n1!v2@i3#n4$c5%i6^b7&l8*e9(
Now, how do we remember such a password ? Looks impossible. Actually, it`s really simple, here is the answer you only need to look at a keyboard and to remember the word invincible and the order of your arrangement based on this :
invincible
0123456789
~!@#$%^&*(
The following picture will show you how this password was created. If I was going to told you that this password is a strong one, you were going to admit but very difficult to remember otherwise. Now that you know the `formula` it`s a lot easier, isn`t it ?
IMPORTANT: Be creative, create your own password, do not copy a password from somewhere on the Internet. Do not associate your password with your favourite sport team. Do not associate your password with a famous name such as the name of your favourite movie star or even the name of a well know brand like your favourite drink, soap, car etc. Maybe you discovered a website that will generate a random password for you. It`s not a smart thing to do if you`re going to protect your data. Remember this: it doesn`t matter if you created a strong password IF someone is going to steal it from you using a phishing method, keylogger, trojan or anything else. Passwords are easily to intercept on your laptop, PC, via Internet IF someone is willing to spend a lot of money for this purpose. Using a software like Password Safe, KeePass or ROBOFORM would be a good ideea for a regular user and a bad ideea for some people. Everything you learned here is from my own point of view, you can create your own methods for developing strong passwords, do not rely on this as the best method for creating passwords. If you don`t know where to start, this article should open your eyes and why not, it`s a good start
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