Convert a simple word into a strong password!

The password creation method from this post is outlined below.

1. Start with a dictionary word or short phrase, between 8 and 16 characters in length.  This is your seed.
2. Pick three of the letters in your seed.  Find a good reason for choosing those letters.

Password Tip #2

Start Small

Don’t try to change all your passwords and your entire password generation process in one shot.  It takes time to develop a method that works for you.

Let’s all start today and stop creating accounts using our tried-and-true password.  You know, that one you’ve used for every website from Yahoo! and Google to eBay and iTunes.

The Numbers behind Password Strength

Do not fear, I’m not taking you back to math class!  Instead, I just want to demonstrate how adding more elements to your password increases its strength.

Let’s start with several examples

1. 123456: This password is one of a million possible 6-digit numeric passwords. 
2. abcdef: This password is one of over 308 million possible 6-character lower case passwords.

Realistic Password Security

While my post about strong passwords lists out the definition and shows some examples of what experts believe are the best types of passwords, those are probably less than realistic for the average home user.

This post describes my opinion of the minimum requirements for securing your online self.

1. Create a password with at least 8 characters
2. Be sure to use at least one UPPER case, one lower case and one number in each password you create

Categorizing your Passwords

There are several ways to organize and maintain your passwords.  I recommend associating each online site with a category and then use a systematic approach to the complexity and frequency of changing your passwords based on the data held behind the password.

Here is my category list, starting with those needing the strongest passwords, diligent maintenance and greatest protection.

1. Credit Cards
2. Bank Accounts

What is a Strong Password?

According to Microsoft Online Safety and Wikipedia a strong password is one that is long and complex.

It is widely recommended that passwords contain UPPER and lower case letters, numbers and special characters and be around 14 characters in length.  While a password with that many components can seem daunting to create and remember, there are ways to make the task easier and more manageable.

Strong passwords should not include words that are

Password Tip #1

Do not store your passwords in a text file on a USB device or in an easily accessible area of your computer, unless the file is encrypted and password protected.

If someone were to get ahold of your computer or solid-state storage device, would they be able to retrieve your passwords for online banking? email? Facebook? Twitter? PayPal?  iTunes? eBay? Starbucks? XBox 360?  Think about your online footprint.