Tips for creating a Secure Password

Passwords are your first line of defence against any internet threat. Sadly very few people recognise this fact.  Though the passwords are not the perfect security solution, if you put in some more effort they can provide a great security boost to your online and offline systems.

In any case, a password is not very useful if someone can simply crack it by guessing or by looking over your shoulder. So, here are some security tips that can be kept in mind while compiling a high security password.

• You can use a password manager to create a password: A good password manager can create strong and unique password for any and all of your accounts. This means that if one of your passwords is leaked in a data breach any person with a harmful intent would still have to struggle with other online services and subscriptions. The best password managers are those which sync across desktop and mobile. You could even remember just one key, rather than having to memorize more than dozens of long and complicated passwords.
• Choose a longer password: In the case of passwords’ security, length matters more than the complexity of the combination. Once you have extended it to 12-15 character range, it will become way harder for a hacker to guess or crack it solely on the basis of brute force. And try to use some special characters rather than using the name of your favourite band.
• You can keep the special characters apart: You have to keep in mind not to bunch together special characters like !,@,#,$,% etc. This is exactly what people do and this means that this is what the potential threats are looking for. To make the guesswork extra tricky you have to space them apart.
• Don’t change the passwords too regularly: This is a tricky one. But keep in mind that the less often you change your password, the less likely you are to forget it. You may even fall into a pattern, like changing only a number at the end each time you update your password. This only makes it easier to crack the password.
• Single purpose passwords only: At the very least you need to make sure that you don’t use the same passwords across different online services and accounts. If you do this then a retailer breach that you have no control over could cost you your most confidential banking password.
• Never to trust your browser with passwords: A convenient shortcut that everyone falls into habit of using is to let your browser remember them for you. You must have seen the option yourself. I can even bet that you use it on at least one site. Don’t use it anymore. The option for the browser to remember the passwords is really convenient, but the taxing of security is very high. If you really need a free and easy option, go with a good and respectable password manager instead of trusting everything to your browser.
• Enable OTP protection wherever it is possible: In these days of ever increasing online security threats, not even a password is enough to safeguard your privacy. Many of the services like, commercial banks, Google, etc. offer another layer of protection. This protection can come in the form of a numeric code that is sent to your phone via SMS. This is more than enough for most people. Just keep in mind that this is also not completely foolproof.

-Archit