What Constitutes a Strong Password?

Strong passwords are essential.

Passwords are a real hassle, but they are currently our best option for securing your accounts and data. While we would all love to do away with passwords, password-less security is still far into the future.

What makes a password strong?

Several criteria make a password strong and, thus, difficult to crack or guess. The days of passwords such as your dog’s name with some numbers tacked on to the end are long gone.

Password security starts with creating a strong password. A strong password is:

• At least 12 characters long, but 14 or more is better.
• A combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Not a word that can be found in a dictionary or the name of a person, character, product, or organization.
• Significantly different from your previous passwords.
• It is a good idea not to use the typical symbol substitutions such as:
  
  • @ (substitute for “a”)
  • 1 (substitute for “i” or “l”)
  • ! (substitute for “i” or “l”)
  • 3 (substitute for “e”)
  • $ (substitute for “s”)
  • 0 (substitute for “o”)
  • 5 (substitute for “s”)

Consider using a website to generate your password.

Several sites can help you create a great password:

• Strong Password Generator | Bitwarden
• Password Generator – LastPass
• XKPasswd – Secure Memorable Passwords

Consider using a passphrase for your password.

A passphrase is a combination of words that form a memorable phrase. Passphrases are usually longer than 14 characters and should contain unrelated words to make them more secure. Because a passphrase is longer and more complex than a traditional password, it is considered a more secure authentication method. The concept behind a passphrase is that longer words or phrases are more resistant to brute force attacks (when attackers attempt to crack passwords by trying different combinations).

However, it’s important to avoid common phrases. For example, the following passphrases could be relatively easy for hackers to guess:

• Iloverockandroll
• helloworldhowareyou
• happy birthday to me
• Imwalkingonsunshine

Here are two websites that can help you generate a passphrase:

• https://www.useapassphrase.com/
• Secure Passphrase Generator (untroubled.org)

Consider a password manager.

The easiest way to remember your passwords is not to. A password manager is a secure way to manage all your passwords, notes, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. It is also extremely important to have a different password for every website or service. A password manager makes this possible. While breaches of these tools have been reported in the media, using one is still far superior to almost every other method of managing your passwords.

Some of the best of these tools are:
Bitwarden Open Source Password Manager | Bitwarden
Password & Secrets Management | Keeper Security
Password Manager for Families, Businesses, Teams | 1Password
#1 Password Manager & Vault App with Single-Sign On & MFA Solutions – LastPass

If you need any help or advice regarding passwords or security, please reach out to us by emailing support@viatek.net or calling 303.664.1182.