How to create Secure Passwords
Creating secure passwords is something of an art now. The days of easy-to-remember passwords are long gone. You can’t use your birthday, your kid’s names, “password,” or even “passw0rd” (with a zero) anymore. In many cases, you can’t use ANY of the passwords you have used before. As Chris says: “Complexity is your friend.” Here’s how long it takes to hack a password today:
Creativity is required! Here are some ideas to help you develop your own secure passwords. And, remember to change your passwords frequently, especially on Financial and Social Media sites.
Basic Rules for Secure Passwords:
- No less than 12 characters
- A mix of both small and capital letters, plus numbers
- If the app allows it, add special characters too, like !@#$%^&*()+:’
Password Hack: Substitute Characters
You can use random words and change out some of the letters for numbers or special characters.
- An “A” can become “@”
- An “E” can become the number “3”
- An “L” or “I” can become the number “1” or “!”
- An “O” becomes the number “0”
- An “S” becomes “$”
Password Hack: Random Words
Look around your office or whatever room you’re in. Pick a few things you see. Don’t forget items in art on the wall or fridge! Remember to substitute characters as mentioned in the first section.
Do you see a tree outside, a rainbow on a drawing on your fridge, a pelican on the postcard from your brother in Florida? Use it!
“Tree”, “Rainbow”, “Pelican” becomes “Tr3eR@1nb0wPe1ican”
Random Characters create Secure Passwords:
You can also tap random keys on your keyboard. Once you get to 30 characters, you can stop. Make sure it is sufficiently randomized. We don’t want to see “asdfghjkl;”! For example:
- 3k5c9dl#8sx0e;4*fHeI3)%E c94
Hobby Hack:
Select several words related to your favorite hobby and create a password from that. I like using three words, but you can use more if you like. For example:
- Sai!bo@tLifejacketTil11er
- P@intingP1einAirLand$cape
- W1neVintageC0rk$crew
- H1kingTr@ilMapBoot$
Entertainment Hack:
Let’s say your favorite TV series is “House”. Now, House is only five letters; the minimum number of characters most apps require is eight. Hackers are more innovative and use better equipment these days. Today, the minimum number of characters we’d recommend is 15, but I think 25 is better. So, how do you stretch out your favorite TV series to at least 15 characters? Here’s how:
- Name: House
- Studio: Universal
- Favorite Actor: Hugh Laurie
This brings us to “HouseHughLaurie” (15 Characters – fair) or “HouseUniversalHughLaurie” (24 Characters – better!) But, without numbers or special characters, it’s still not a good password.
- You can try: “H0useHughL@urie” or “H0useUn!versalHughL@urie”. With either of these, you’ve got upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters!
Trekkies have it easier. They just need the name of the show:
Get the idea? You can do this with favorite books, movies, famous people, etc.
Conclusion:
Remember to use Secure Passwords wherever you log in AND to change your passwords frequently. Be incredibly diligent with Social Media and Financial accounts!
Good luck and “Hey, let’s be careful out there.” (Hill Street Blues)
I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!
INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.
Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.
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Note that when I purchased this one, it had 4 stars. I’m writing this two months later and it’s down to 3.3 stars.
MagSafe Car Mount Charger – Get This One!
The MagSafe Charger lists for $30 and received an average of 4.1 stars from 52 reviewers. It works specifically with the iPhone MagSafe system. This model will also charge your phone while it’s on the magnetic holder, so that’s a plus! The magnetic holder is charged via a USB-C cable that lights it up with pretty colors when the phone isn’t on it.
This one is my favorite and the one I use today. My only knock is that when the car is parked and the windshield gets hot, the holder falls off. Sometimes it lands on the floor and picks up pieces of grit on the sticky side.