How to Create Strong Passwords: Full-Guide

How to Create Strong Passwords

Whether you are using social media platforms, a photo editor, attending online classes, distance education, any portal, or similar, passwords play a crucial role! These add a layer of security to your account and data. However, with these becoming prominent, they have become vulnerable to data and security breaches. 

So, you would be looking for how to create strong passwords, and we have covered you all with it!

How to Create Strong Passwords?

Creating a password means you need security for your essentials. So, Can you choose an easier one that anyone can guess? Obviously, No, you set a password that will be difficult to find for others. So, how should you create? What combination of characters should you follow? How long should it be? Let’s learn all these things in this section.

Password’s Length and Complexity

Password’s length and complexity is the first factor you should consider while creating your password. Password length refers to using letters, characters, and special symbols. Password complexity refers to the use of characters in between letters. 

You need at least 12 12-digit passwords to secure your data, but a password that is 14-16 characters long gives more security. The longer the password, the more difficult it is to guess. Suppose you had a 12-digit long password; 16,020 days are needed to find all the possibilities. 

Length is not all; you must add some complexity to your password. You are advised to use a mix-up of letters, characters, symbols, and digits. You must use both uppercase and lowercase for your password to strengthen it.

Here are some examples: 

  • fluff¥56Face©
  • V@best89₹#
  • Czon#341$

Passphrases

To encrypt your data, you can also go for passphrases. Passphrases are a sentence or strings of words that can make sense to the user and can be remembered easily. Passphrases provide more security than passwords because they are usually longer than passwords. 

Passphrases cannot be cracked easily, not even with advanced cracking tools. Passphrases are commonly used as encryption for Windows and MacOS. Adding your story, working time, and favorite songs are some of the best practices you can follow to create a passphrase.

Avoid Easily Guessable Information

People often use efficiently guessable information like their names, birthdays, and dictionary words. Are you one of them? If yes, you can be close enough to be a victim of a hacked password. If you choose a password as your information, anyone can guess it easily. So you should take care that your password must be unique. Nobody should not have any idea what you choose for your password. 

Use a Unique Password for Each Account

Sometimes, you choose the same password for your many accounts. It is not a good habit and can become a significant loss for you. If anyone can access your one password, it can automatically access other accounts. It is like having one key to open all doors. 

Common Password Mistakes to Avoid

There are several mistakes that people make while creating passwords, and they must avoid them! 

Password Reuse

You should take care of the fact that you choose different passwords for all accounts. Many people think it doesn’t matter to select the same password for every account. 

But if you had different passwords for every account, you should not be worried about all if one password gets leaked. So, never reuse your password.

Writing Down Passwords

Some people have a habit of writing passwords for future reference. Oh! You are one of them. 

Yes, writing down passwords is one of the biggest mistakes that can land you in trouble. If you write, then also keep that in a safe place so that no one can gain access to them.

Sharing Passwords

Sharing Passwords can also be risky. Never share your passwords with anyone. Sharing a password means giving access to your credentials to a particular person. 

By sharing a password, you may lose control of your account. Then, that person can use your account or any other credentials. 

So, it is essential to share your passwords with anyone to ensure full security.

Using Sequence 

Some people used to set a password in sequences like 1-8 numbers. This is the biggest mistake you have ever made. Having a password and no password is equal till no one tries to hack your account. 

This is the most common type that everyone uses. They are easily guessable as well as easy to hack. 

What is the Role of Password Managers?

Password Managers are the tools that help you to store your passwords safely. They can also generate challenging and complex passwords for you and reduce the risk of password breaches. They secure passwords in the database, which you can access in a few clicks. 

Password managers also offer features like automatic form filling and secure sharing. With these features, it becomes easy to use strong, unique passwords across multiple accounts while maintaining high-security standards.

Here are some popular password managers you can use;

  1. 1Password

1Password is one of the widely used password Managers. It supports Linux, Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows. It allows you to import your passwords from other managers. It provides you an open and fill option to fill your password where you want easily.  

Besides, a paid manager gives you a trial period of 14 days. After these 14 days, you need to buy a plan for yourself. It offers various plans for individuals, families, and businesses. It starts from $3 per month for individuals.

  1. Bitwarden 
Bitwarden

Bitwarden is the best free password manager. It is compatible with MacOS, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux. You can store an unlimited number of passwords in Bitwarden for free. The best thing is that it is an open-source platform, and third parties can easily audit it. 

  1. Keeper
Keeper

Keeper is one of the secure password managers. You can secure unlimited passwords on unlimited devices. However, it is compatible with fewer web browsers than other password managers. This app is compatible with MacOS, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux. 

Besides, it supports web browsers like Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Safari. It is different from other managers as you can use it offline. You can use its standard version free for 30 days; after that, you have to upgrade to the premium version with a plan.

Conclusion

In the age of the digital world, securing credentials is one of the vital aspects you should look at.  Hacked passwords can create a lot of problems for you. You can create strong passwords with letters, digits, and characters. 

Complex passwords are always tricky to hack. You must avoid sharing, writing, and guessable passwords. If you cannot learn all passwords, you can opt for password managers. Bitwarden is one of the best password managers you can use for free. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. How Can I make a strong password?

To make your passwords strong, make it at least 12 digits long. Use uppercase, lowercase, or a mixup of numbers and symbols to make it harder. Avoid using names, dates, or dictionary words. 

  1. Why use password managers?

Password Managers save your passwords securely. You can access them anytime and use them on different devices. It abolished the need to remember passwords. So, you can store many passwords and use different passwords for other accounts. 

  1. What are passphrases, and why should I choose them?

Passphrases are the sentences used in place of passwords with a special meaning for the user. They are easy to remember. You can choose it because they are more secure than passwords. 

About Shruti Gupta

I am a budding writer. Apart from technology, I am passionate about history, health, and lifestyle. I have started my blog where I write about anything and everything. I put my thoughts and knowledge into words that connect with people.

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