How to Create a Strong Password?

We use several on-line platforms, mobile applications. We have Facebook profiles, email accounts, etc. To have access to most of them (if not all) we need a passwords. Do you know how strong are your passwords? It’s hard to remember all passwords and because they should be strong (difficult passwords) it’s even harder to keep track of all of them.

Here is the list of the WORST (but still popular) passwords of 2012

Unfortunately it’s a bad list – those passwords are NOT strong enough to keep your digital life safe.

• password
• 123456
• 12345678
• abc123
• qwerty
• monkey
• letmein
• dragon
• 1111111
• baseball
• iloveyou
• trustno1
• 1234567
• sunshine
• master
• 123123
• welcome
• shadow
• ashley
• football
• jesus
• michael
• ninja
• mustang
• password1

Just in case – please don’t use passwords from the above list.

How to create a strong password tips:

• length: use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters. Think about short words (it’s easier to remember the password), e.g.: “golf_time_city!” or “go for a walk at 9?”
• several accounts = several (different) passwords: avoid using the same username and password combination. So if you have a Facebook profile, email account, Twitter account, bank account, etc. use different password for each account
• password manager applications: if you have problems remembering all your passwords try password manager applications that help you to organize and protect your passwords. Check SplashID Safe, 1Password, LastPass, mSecure
• update your passwords: it’s important to update your passwords once in a while. Every few weeks, every other month.

Simple passwords are not good enough to keep your online accounts safe. I know it’s easier to remember password: “Sun123” than “RdI9So?249E5x#” but the first one won’t keep you safe as the second example. Password manager applications can help you with the problem.

Do you use any password manager application? or do remember all your passwords? What’s your idea of keeping your passwords safe and remember them.