Tech Tip: How To Make Secure Passwords that You Can Remember

- by Russ Alman, Communications Director

One of the most important steps you can take to keep your online information secure is to use robust passwords that are difficult for a hacker to guess. You should never create passwords that include phrases that can be found about you in public records, such as your kids’ names, the city you live in or your birthday. Cybercriminals collect this information and then use it to guess your passwords.

An ideal password should have:

• At least 12 characters
• Uppercase and lowercase letters
• Numbers
• Special characters (shift-number, such as #, %, &, etc.)

The problem is, these complex passwords are difficult to remember.

Here’s a method that can help you create hard-to-crack passwords in a way that you can remember them:

1. Write down two or more words that mean something to you but aren’t common knowledge, for example, your favorite color and your favorite dessert. Make sure the two words add up to at least 12 characters. Capitalize each word.
2. Now comes the fun part: Replace some of the letters with numbers or special characters that look similar. For example replace the letter “a” with an “@”, an “e” with an “3” or a “l” with a “!”.
3. Now you will have a secure password that is based on simple words that you can remember. Since the special characters are visually similar to the original letters, you’ll trigger your memory.
   

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Here’s an example:

• 3 words: Purple Chocolate Cake
• Substitute: Purp!3Ch0c0l@t3C@k3