What Makes a Password Strong?
The key aspects that can make a user's password are related to length, (the longer the better), a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols and finally no ties to your bank account details or other personal details.
How to easily spot a weak password?
Let's look at some of the examples below:
- Common Words: The word 'password' is the most commonly used password and can be easily guessed
- It's Short: Let's say you use the word 'apple', which is quite short and can be easily guessed, especially by family members or close friends, who know you quite well
- Repeated Passwords: Let's say for example you have used the following password: 'Greatweather' to sign in to your email, but you also use the same password at work, including your bank account and other app subscriptions. Should anyone finds out your password, then he/she will be able to use it and access all of the relevant accounts
Tips to Create a Unique Password
The following guidelines will help you create a strong password:
- 8 characters (minimum): Try to exceed the length of 8 characters
- A mix of Uppercase and Lowercase: Try to use a combination of both lower and uppercase letters
- Numbers and Symbols: As part of your password, it would be advisable to use numbers and perhaps special case symbols
- Not related to Case Sensitive Details: It would be advisable to prevent using your national insurance number, house address or perhaps the date of birth as part of your password
Good To Know
A few examples, for illustrative purposes, can be found below:
- 2BorNot2B-Qu3st
- J0hnaThAn1sk!nd
- 14All&all41 (= One for all and all for one)
