4 Tips for Making Strong Passwords

byGitErDun

517 followers

10 years ago

Passwords are a hassle, but a necessary evil of online memberships to various websites. If you are a member to more than 10 websites, trying to keep track of the passwords for each, or just trying to remember them, is such a headache.

I'm a member of many hundreds of websites, and I use a different password for each one. How do I keep track of all those passwords?

Simple! I have used the free version of LastPass for years without any worries. LastPass is a password manager that stores your various passwords on your computer, not on their servers. It's very secure, as I mentioned, free, and I only have to remember one [very strong] password - the master password to log in to LastPass.

Here's advice for how to create strong passwords:

1. Minimum 8 characters; 12 characters is better; 16 characters is ultimate.
2. Each password, at a minimum, should be a mixture of alpha-numeric characters. Having a couple of capital alphabet characters is recommended. Add at least one symbol character for increased password strength.
3. Never use the same password twice, if you can avoid that!
4. Password crackers are programmed to recognize words, so It's best not to use actual words in your password.

LastPass can also generate strong passwords for you if you have a hard time figuring out a new password.

To get and use LastPass, you'll need to download the LastPass program and install it, create your LastPass account, then add the extension to your browser (I use LastPass on both Firefox and Chrome). LastPass is also available for use on mobile devices.

Happy password management!

Mike

FYI: I offer LastPass as a suggested, recommended password manager. I do not get any form of compensation for doing so here in this blog.