Tips to select a strong password

The following list of do’s and don’ts will help you make your digital content and connected devices safer, so you can enjoy them worry free.

How to create a strong password

• Create a password ideally made up of 15 characters or more. The longer your password, the harder it will be to guess.
• Make use of mnemonics to help you remember it. You could choose a phrase (song lyrics, part of a poem, a quote, etc.), but just use the first letters of each word. For example, the phrase “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” could become “Altaiagffa”.
• To make your password even stronger, set your own “coding” scheme, such as adding a number between each letter, replacing letters with unusual punctuation marks, writing words backwards, etc.
• Use a password manager. These applications, some of which are free, provide a highly secure means to save your passwords. You only have a single master password to remember (so choose it carefully).
• If you don’t wish to use such a manager, computer security expert Bruce Schneier suggests you write them down. After all, no one can remotely access a piece of paper, unlike your computer, so this option helps avoid any hacking risk — as long as you keep it somewhere safe.
• Use a password generator to get random and complex combinations that are hard to guess. This reduces the risk of hacking. Options such as Keeper Security or StrongPasswordGenerator.org are reliable and free.

What not to do to keep your password safe

• Include personal information (birthdays, important dates, addresses) in your password. Hackers can scan your computer for information about you, then try out password combinations that include it.
• Use the most common passwords. The best way to understand the importance of using a unique password is to know how hackers operate. When trying to hack an account, they first try many different passwords. By avoiding such ubiquitous combinations, you’ll make their job much harder.
• Use the same password for several accounts. Of course, it’s easy to fall into that trap due to a lack of inspiration (and also, let’s be honest, out of laziness), but using the same password increases the risk your accounts could be hacked. If you don’t wish to use such a manager, computer security expert Bruce Schneier suggests you write them down. After all, no one can remotely access a piece of paper, unlike your computer, so this option helps avoid any hacking risk — as long as you keep it somewhere safe.
• Leave the creation of your passwords to AI: They may seem secure, but AI-generated passwords follow predictable patterns, making them easier to hack.

Bottom line, be creative and make sure to keep your passwords in a safe place. Outwitting hackers will help you protect your data!