Easy Secure Passwords
01/07/08 20:44
We have too many password requirements
and most of us use just one, which means that someone with
malicious intent could conceivably access all your records. To have
unique easy to remember passwords is simple. Create a stem using
easy to remember letters and numbers with some capitals
interspersed.
For example my friend’s daughter’s birthday is Feb 14, 1997 and her initials are APV. Using her birthday and initials we can create a stem of a2p14v97 or a2v97. Then add the stem to each website you use. If she had a GMail account, then the password could be a2v97GMail.com. Or if she had a rogers email then it could be a2v97Rogers.
Another good idea is to add an unusual character such as the star or dollar sign. See below for a possible list. Not all web sites allow these characters, however. A strong password such as a2p14v97Rogers.Com$ is impossible to guess and easy to remember because it relates to her initials, birthday and a unique character known only to her. In this case she has only to remember that she capitalizes the first letter of each word or syllable. This is also over 13 characters making it hard to break with a brute force attack.
Another variation is to use a parent’s initials and birthday, or a combination of your initials and birthdate combined with your parents. For example, if APV’s mother was born in September and her father in May then her stem could be a2s9m5.
Remember of course that if you are in an internet cafe at Starbucks using an insecure connection or have inadvertently downloaded a key stroke logger, then the there s no guessing the password because it can be extracted out of the wireless signal, just like picking up a radio station.
Its a good idea to use one of these characters
' ! @ $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ = + [ ] ; : ' " , < . > / ?
For example my friend’s daughter’s birthday is Feb 14, 1997 and her initials are APV. Using her birthday and initials we can create a stem of a2p14v97 or a2v97. Then add the stem to each website you use. If she had a GMail account, then the password could be a2v97GMail.com. Or if she had a rogers email then it could be a2v97Rogers.
Another good idea is to add an unusual character such as the star or dollar sign. See below for a possible list. Not all web sites allow these characters, however. A strong password such as a2p14v97Rogers.Com$ is impossible to guess and easy to remember because it relates to her initials, birthday and a unique character known only to her. In this case she has only to remember that she capitalizes the first letter of each word or syllable. This is also over 13 characters making it hard to break with a brute force attack.
Another variation is to use a parent’s initials and birthday, or a combination of your initials and birthdate combined with your parents. For example, if APV’s mother was born in September and her father in May then her stem could be a2s9m5.
Remember of course that if you are in an internet cafe at Starbucks using an insecure connection or have inadvertently downloaded a key stroke logger, then the there s no guessing the password because it can be extracted out of the wireless signal, just like picking up a radio station.
Its a good idea to use one of these characters
' ! @ $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ = + [ ] ; : ' " , < . > / ?