How to Create a Good Strong Password

There is a considerable risk that someone can hack your online accounts and use your personal information against you if your passwords are simple words like "p@$$w0rd." Here's how to make a good password to protect yourself from cybercriminals.

Why do I need a strong password?

In order to prevent unauthorized access to your computer, online accounts, or personal data, passwords serve as the first line of defense. Your level of protection from hackers and bad malware increases with the strength of your credentials. For every account, you ought to create a strong password. Find out how to make a strong password by reading on.

Common password mistakes

Hackers may target any internet user, whether they are an individual or a business. Do not make their task simpler. Companies should provide their staff with cyber-security awareness training so they may understand how to secure the organization and themselves.

Making a good password means avoiding the mistakes listed below.

  1. Create a password that you can use to access multiple websites

Hackers love it since it is one of the most common password mistakes. It significantly makes their task easier. Picture the scenario. Let's say you run a business, and one of your employees unwittingly falls for a phishing email that appears to be from their bank. They divulge their banking login information to the hacker. Smart hackers start using those login details as frequently as they can, including on the website of your company, because they know that many people make the mistake of using the same password everywhere. Currently, a hacker has acquired access. The best course of action is to make it clear to every single one of your employees how severe this issue is.

  1. Using passwords with only one character of variation

Now that you know not to create the same password twice, you might try setting up similar passwords. For instance, you might be tempted to switch your password from "540westoakavenue" to "541westoakavenue."

Unfortunately, sophisticated password-guessing software can detect this.

  1. Using Any Personal Information

It is very important to stress this point: Any kind of personal information used as a password poses a huge threat. Your own name should never be used, along with the names of your relatives, favorite celebrities, pets, friends, and so on. Even something as simple as a college mascot shouldn’t be used, as it’s relatively easy to find out this kind of information.

  1. Substituting Numbers for Letters

A more secure password in the past would have been "st4ysTr0n9 rather than "StayStrong." But today's password-guessing tools are far more sophisticated, and they can still crack passcodes that substitute digits and symbols for letters.

  1. Create a short password for your account

A straightforward password of five or six characters would have been secure if this were a decade ago. But with today's powerful computers, a brute-force attack may easily break that weak password. Create passwords that are at least twelve characters long these days, if not more.

  1. Never Changing Passwords

Secure your passwords by changing them frequently, ideally every three months. You might be able to defend yourself even if a data breach is not discovered and a hacker takes some time before using the information. Changing every password that frequently may be annoying, but as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.

5 Tips for Creating a Unique Password


You may learn how to make your passwords secure by using these five password-creation tips. 

Tip 1: Create strong secure passwords that have common features but are tailored to particular sites.

If you know how to create the first portions of the password example below and you're on a site's login page, you'll know what to add. The example password uses a consistent style to tell a story.

  • ABT2_uz_AMZ! (About to use Amazon)

Tip 2: Create a phrase and add abbreviations or shorthand

With the help of these examples, you can utilize words that have meaning for you or that you identify with a certain kind of website. For a banking website, it might be a term referring to money, and so forth.

  • 14A&A41dumaS (one for all and all for 1 - from The Three Musketeers, by Dumas)

Tip 3: Create a longer password

To make your password more secure, it needs to be at least six characters long.

Tip 4: Include characters 

Use both capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to make your password more secure.

Tip 5: Random passwords are the strongest.

Utilize a password generator to create the most secure passwords. 

Strong Password Examples 

Below are a few suggested strong passwords and the reasoning behind them.

  • 2BorN0t2B_Th4tI$Th3? (To be or not to be, that is the question - from Shakespeare)

  • Pwrd4@cct-$$ (Password for an account at the bank)

  • L8r_L8rNot2day (Later, later, not today - from the kid's rhyme)

  • ABT2_uz_BoA! (About to use Bank of America)

  • John3:16=4G (Scriptural reference)

Final Thoughts

The tips outlined above should give you a good idea of what makes a good password right away, but a password generator can help you out with that. A password generator can help you make strong passwords and a password manager can help to store them for you conveniently.