What the Tech? Stronger Passwords
It seems like every week, someone reaches out to me about passwords. And it’s no wonder –
with the constant threat of hacking and data breaches, creating and remembering strong,
unique passwords for all of our accounts feels like an impossible task. But what if there was a
free and easy way to protect your accounts without relying on password managers or
passkeys?
Even a seemingly complex password with 13 characters can be cracked almost instantly by a
skilled hacker. A truly strong password – one with 15 characters, including letters, numbers, and
special characters – would take an estimated 22 billion years to crack. The challenge lies in
creating and remembering such passwords for every single account.
The Solution: A Secret Code
Instead of relying on complex combinations of characters, you can create a strong and
memorable password using a secret code based on your favorite movies or songs. Here’s how it
works:
- Choose your favorites: Select a few of your favorite movie or song titles. For this example, let’s use the songs “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”
- Capitalize and combine: Take the first letter of each word and capitalize the major words in each title and combine them with a special character and number in between. For example: CiL%7DotEoT. According to Security.org, a password like this would take 200 million years to crack.
- Customize for each account: To make your password unique for each account, add the first and last letter of the account name. For example, add “Fk” for Facebook, “Ge” for Google, “Ae” for Apple, and so on. This simple addition increases the time it would take a hacker to crack your password to an estimated 1 trillion years
- Easy to update: If you ever need to change your password, simply swap out the number or special character for a new one.
Benefits of this Method
- Easy to remember: You only need to remember your favorite movies or songs and the secret code.
- Highly secure: This method creates passwords that are incredibly difficult for hackers to crack.
- Customizable: You can easily create unique passwords for each of your accounts.
- Free: Unlike password managers, this method doesn’t cost a dime.
Remember: It’s always a good idea to check the strength of your existing passwords. You can
do this by visiting websites like www.Security.org.
By using this simple method, you can create strong, memorable passwords and protect your
accounts without the hassle of password managers or passkeys. So ditch the complicated
combinations and start using your favorite movies and songs to secure your online presence.