What Is the Most Secure Type of Password?
The struggle of creating an online password that is safe and secure can be difficult. Some sites have hard-to-follow requirements; others don’t give any rules, leading to passwords that feel unsafe. How do you strike a balance between a password that you will remember and a password that won’t be easily hacked? What is the most secure type of password?
How to Make a Secure Password
If you’re ready to learn about making complicated passwords that won’t be easy to hack, it’s time to take these seven rules into account. With these, you’ll be ready to make safe passwords for years to come.
Rule #1: Longer is better.
The first thing to remember about passwords is that you should be going for the maximum, not the minimum, length. Most sites will have some type of length requirement and limitation on passwords. For example, you might be asked to create a password that is between eight and 40 characters. Ideally, you want to create a password that is 40 characters long.
It may sound crazy to use that many characters, but the longer your password, the harder it will be for someone to crack. For standard security practices, make sure your password is always at least eight characters long, no matter the minimum requirement.
Rule #2: Strong passwords are well-protected.
No matter how complex your password is, it will not be a strong password if it is readily available to anyone who looks for it. Passwords that are kept in unsecure locations, such as the Notes app on your phone or in a message you send to yourself on a messaging service, are not safe.
To ensure your password is strong, you want to make sure it is well-kept and well-protected. Using a password manager, such as LastPass, is a great way to keep your accounts safe. Not only does this software save your passwords for you, but it will also suggest strong passwords and check them for any compromises.
Rule #3: Avoid logic.
Logical passwords are often easy-to-guess passwords. For example, making your password on a banking website “BankNamePassword” will not give you secure protection.
Logical passwords can be great for helping you to remember them, but that also means they will become easier for someone to guess. When it comes to password creation, you want things to be a bit illogical to make them more complex.
Rule #4: Dictionary words should be avoided.
Most people think of words they commonly use or words from a dictionary when trying to create a password. While this makes sense to our brains, it does not always make sense in terms of online security.
In a nutshell, meaningful words are going to be more easily hacked than words that don’t make any sense. If you want to use a dictionary word, change out some of the letters for characters. For example, you could write “dog” as “d0g.”
Rule #5: Randomize your characters.
Websites often suggest or require that you use a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters in your passwords. This is because having more of these variations within your password will make it harder for it to be compromised.
If possible, try to use all four types of characters when creating your password, as can be seen in the following examples:
- XkEjOi9@jU7%127Cd
- o)9i0&ujnRgd#34d
- pL9ihEd67C12
These passwords look like nonsense, but that is what makes them so strong.
Rule #6: Don’t Change Too Frequently
In the past, it was recommended that people change their passwords very frequently to increase their security. That is no longer recommended. Instead, it is actually better to keep your password the same unless it has been compromised.
Rule #7: Don’t Use Variations
Finally, it is important to avoid the temptation to use variations of your old passwords when creating a new one. Most people have done this before. By just changing out one or two characters, they create a new password that is easy to remember and still works.
This may make the password easier to remember, but it also makes it easier to hack. Create a completely new and unique password when changing them for the best security.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve learned these seven essential rules on password creation, are you ready to say what is the most secure type of password? Following all of these rules may feel like overkill at times, but there really is no limit to how much you should do to protect yourself online.
Data breaches that reveal all passwords happen occasionally, but it is more likely that your account will be hacked due to a weak password. You can lower your risk of going through this trouble simply by employing these tactics to make stronger passwords.
