I have been trying to figure out why people insist on using weak passwords. Maybe it’s because they think they will forget a strong password. Perhaps they don’t believe they could ever be the target of a cyber attack or identity theft. Whatever the reason, those people are begging to be ‘victims’.

Weak Passwords

Weak passwords are easy to guess or crack.  If I know just a little information about the person whose account I am trying to access, there is a strong possibility I can guess their password.  Name, name backwards, kid’s or significant other’s name, birth dates, name of high school or school team name, college mascot … you get the idea.  Basically any real word, name, or significant number is easy to guess.

Even if I don’t know anything about you and you use a weak password, I can probably use a brute force attack to get your password.  It takes 3 lines of code to write a program to use a dictionary attack.  Dictionary lists are abundantly available online.

Strong Passwords

• Passwords should be at least 11 characters long
• Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and ASCII symbols (like !@#$%^&* etc.)
• No real words or significant numbers should appear in your password
• Never give your password to anyone
• Never write your password anywhere
• Use different passwords for different services
• Change your passwords at least once per month

How Am I Suppose to Remember a Strong Password?

Each month, pick a short phrase that makes sense to you.  Then obscure that phrase using an easy to remember algorithm (omit spaces):

• Ex 1: Type your phrase out on your keyboard using the next higher row of keys while alternating the Shift key
  —-
  My dog is Fido becomes j^e(t*wR8E9
  —-
• Ex 2: Use your telephone keypad to spell out your phrase while alternating case, numbers, and matching ASCII characters
  —-
  My dog is Fido becomes m9#O4$3i#^
  —-
• Develop your own ‘algorithm’ and use it to create your own unique strong passwords every month
• Never tell anyone you use an ‘algorithm’ to create passwords form phrases