Safe Passwords
Sometimes a funny phrase or sentence is hard to forget, but in any case, create passwords that incorporate the tips listed above and that are relevant to your life and interests.
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) January 08, 2014
Last week, Mashable published an article titled “The Evolution of the Password — And Why It's Still Far From Safe," stating that password hacking is becoming increasingly common with high authority websites, such as Gmail, Facebook, Target and more.
"Your laptop and other electronic devices are constantly under attack, even if you don’t know it," says Jeremy Durant, business principal at Bop Design, a San Diego web design agency. "Hackers will go to great lengths to access your computer, but the easiest way for them to break in and install malicious software is by cracking your password. The simpler the password (simple meaning, easy for you to remember), the easier it is to be hacked."
As a result, business owners need both strong passwords and ones they won’t easily forget. Generally speaking, a strong password includes most or all of the following:
- Must be at least eight characters long
- Doesn’t include the user’s name, real name or the name of his or her business
- Doesn’t contain a word found in the dictionary
Strong passwords are comprised of these different categories:
- Uppercase letters (J, K, L, etc.)
- Lowercase letters (c, d, e, etc.)
- Numbers (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)
- Symbols found on your keyboard (#$*&=+, etc.)
"Creating a password that incorporates these elements—actually, several passwords for different devices—significantly increases the odds of protection in your favor," Durant says.
To remember these passwords, Durant suggests the following tips:
- Link the password to a favorite sport or pastime. For example, "I’m a great quarterback" could be "IMagr8TQb."
- Take a memorable phrase and replace letters or words with numbers, symbols or deliberate misspellings, as in "My wedding anniversary is June 4, 2002," which now becomes "MWa4/6/02."
- Make up an acronym based on an easy-to-remember bit of information. "The earth is round" becomes "TeRthizO."
Another effective strategy is the use of passwords that are simple for you to remember, but hard for others to decipher. For example, use the initial of each word in "My first dog was a Doberman Pincher" to create "M1stDwaDP."
Try substituting a symbol for a letter or word (“1” instead of “L”, “&” instead of “and”) as part of a memorable phrase, such as “Always look for the silver lining” (A14t$1vlyeng).
Other helpful tips:
- Make up a compound word by combining three small words, as in "Wakeme@noon" or "Mydog8thomework."
- Combine the first letters of the words in a sentence. "I have to stay late at work tonight" becomes "Ihtsl@Wt."
- Jot down hints to remember the password, but don’t write down the actual password.
The best and easiest-to-remember passwords carry some special significance to the user, yet are difficult if not impossible for strangers to uncover. "Sometimes a funny phrase or sentence is hard to forget, but in any case, create passwords that incorporate the tips listed above and that are relevant to your life and interests," Durant says. "The contents of your laptop and other devices will be far safer as a result."
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Bop Design is a San Diego marketing agency with offices also in Orange County, CA and the New York metro area. Specializing in B2B marketing, Bop Design creates holistic marketing plans geared toward lead generation and business development. Bop Design offers services in branding, logo design, website design and development, responsive web design, SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing. http://www.bopdesign.com.