How To Pick A Password

There is probably nothing more important to safeguarding your online identity than picking a strong password. However, the trick is coming up with a password that is not only strong, but can be easily remembered by you and won’t be something someone can easily connect to you.

One of the most common mistakes people make is creating a password that is something as simple as their child’s name or their wedding anniversary. If someone knows you, such as a coworker, and they want to gain access to your email, those will be the first things they try.

Here is a list of definite password inspirations you should avoid:

• Anniversary dates
• Any basic word you could find in a dictionary of any language
• Any keyboard sequence (i.e. QWERTY or 12345)
• Birthdays
• Names of close friends or coworkers
• Names of TV/movie/book characters
• Repetitive letters (i.e. nnnnnn)
• The network name of your computer
• Your boss’s name
• Your child’s name
• Your company name
• Your favorite vacation spot
• Your grandchild’s name
• Your license plate number
• Your name
• Your parent’s name
• Your pet’s name
• Your phone number
• Your social security number
• Your spouse’s name

In April of 2007, PC Mag published a list of the 10 most common passwords people use.

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. link182
10. (your first name)

So there you have it, all of the things people do wrong, so what can you do right? Therein lies the eternal question: How do you build a good password? Some people recommend that you use a mixture of capital and lower case letters, but not all password systems offer case-sensitivity. A mixture of words and numbers can also work, but if you pick a favorite word and number, it again becomes a bit too easy for someone to figure out. I personally like to suggest replacing some letters with symbols that look somewhat like the letters of a word, this way you can use a word you do know, but it will be mixed up some. Here are some suggestions:

• A = ^ or @
• C = (
• E = 3
• I = 1
• S = $
• T = +

So let’s say you want to use a word like “sparkle”, using the symbols it would be “$p^rk13″. This actual word is too short, but it gives you a good visual example of just how much you mix up a word by just throwing in a few symbols into it.

Now you’ve learned what not to use, and how to build a stronger password, how do you test it? How do you come up with one that is totally random? There are free checkers and generators out there that will help you with your password.

Password Strength Meters

CertainKey Passphrase Strength Meter - This one really lets you know what’s going on, scoring as you type and telling you how many days it would take to crack.

Microsoft Password Checker - From software manufacturer Microsoft, this one emphasizes length and complexity to give you a password score.

PasswordMeter.com - Numerous options and meters to judge the strength of your password and give suggestions.

SecurityStats.com Password Checker - This checker will judge your password against common password creation practices.

Password Generators

ChooseAPassword.com - A bit basic in that only asks you three questions and then arranges those three answers into a password.

GRC.com - This one will generate passwords that you have absolutely no chance of ever remembering, but you would be hard pressed to beat their strength.

PassPub.com - Every time you load the page you will receive randomly generated password that are 8 characters in length.

PasswordFire.com - This one will ask you a couple of questions and try to combine your answers into one jumbled up password that you can remember, but would require someone to do a lot of guessing.

PwdGen - Another one that will randomly generate a password for you that has considerable strength, but, again, you will have a heck of a time remembering it.

SafePasswd.com - This one gives you numerous options such as number of characters, type to include and more.

This is certainly not a complete guide to all the rules and suggestions of passwords, but hopefully it will set you on your way to a more secure future online.