Protecting your Digital World: How To Create Stronger Passwords

A recent study looked at the top 10 fundamentals for protecting data online. It found that secure passwords came out on top as the number one factor for users. Yet, it also seems that far too many people aren’t using strong passwords for websites, banks, and social media. This puts a large number at risk of data breaches. So, what should we do to improve our passwords?

What You Should Do To Create Strong Passwords

1) Use a series of different characters

A problem with many passwords is that people just type in a word in lowercase letters, press enter, and that’s it. It’s quick and simple when signing up for a new website or online service. This isn’t strong enough. Many sites will now reject passwords that don’t contain capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Depending on the site, this could mean throwing in an @ or # between the letters and numbers. The more random the sequence is, the harder it is to figure out.

2) Make them as long and unintelligible as possible

Length is just as important when creating a password. Many companies with higher security systems won’t let you submit something that isn’t at least 8 characters long. Some would argue that this isn’t long enough, and you’re better off creating something with at least 12 characters. This isn’t always easy, but if you stick with that plan of adding plenty of letters, numbers, and punctuation, it gets easier. Consider putting part of the password in brackets to throw hackers off and make the password more unique.

3) Create something completely unique.

On that note, a unique password is essential. If you use the same password time and time again, that could be a massive problem in a data breach. Hackers that figure out your password for social media and find that it’s the same for all platforms could try the same thing or variations of it for other sites. Therefore, if you use a version of that password for your online banking, you are at serious risk. Most of us decline to do this because it’s so much hassle. We can’t come up with something interesting and memorable for every single site we use. That’s why tools like Google’s password generation system are so helpful. This creates a massive string of characters that’s tough to hack and different from everything else you use.

What You Shouldn’t Do When Creating Strong Passwords

1) Use obvious words

The data from PrivacyEngine also makes us question what we’re doing wrong. The general advice when creating passwords is to not use words that are in the dictionary. That’s easier said than done because no one wants to come up with made-up words they can’t remember. There are levels, however, with some words being easier to guess than others. You could come up with a trio of random words that seem nonsensical but make sense to you. A Simpsons reference to “purple monkey dishwasher”, for example, isn’t going to be that easy to guess. Data privacy statistics from NordPass found that “password” was the fifth most popular password in 2020. You would hope that isn’t the case anymore, as people have become wiser about password protection. It was used by 20,958,297 people across the world that year. It’s astonishing because it’s such a cliche. If you were trying to hack into someone’s account, you’d try that first, just for the irony. It seems like it might actually work a lot of the time.

2) Use obvious sequences

That same study into password use also found that sequential passwords were also very popular. The logic here is that people don’t want the hassle of coming up with something unique and long because they won’t remember it. So, they just put the most basic sequence they can think of. The top four passwords of 2020 were: “123456,” “123456789,” “12345,” and “qwerty. Like with the issue of “password”, hackers are going to try these first and will quickly get into your data. Again, that’s where those random Google-generated strings of characters work so well. But how do you remember them?

Remembering These Complex Unique Passwords

A common reason that these passwords are so short and easy to hack is that users want to be able to remember them by heart. That simply isn’t safe or practical. It’s better to forget what they are but have the information stored in a safe place. There are two ways to go about this. Some browsers, such as Chrome, will have password storage in place that keeps everything secure for when you need it. You can set the browser up to auto-fill online forms and save passwords as long as you are on a private, trusted device. Otherwise, you can go into the password manager, put in your PIN, and see the code on the screen.

The other option is to write everything out by hand and keep it in a secure notebook. This book has to be somewhere safe that’s easy for you to find but not somewhere a thief would find it. Don’t get something that says passwords on the front, however pretty the book is. Go for something plain in the bottom of a drawer. It can just sit there ready for when you need it. This is great for those who don’t trust Google with the information, but you have to stay on top of the records and any changes.

Are Your Passwords Strong Enough?

Hopefully, this guide on creating strong passwords will help you reflect on the best practices for creating passwords that will stop you from ending up in those negative data privacy statistics. Go over any passwords you think are too weak, and keep this advice in mind the next time you need to create something. It might feel like a lot of hassle for nothing at the moment, but it could offer a lot more security and prevent data breaches.