Making Passwords Easy!

Do you feel like your passwords are strong? Discover some tips on how to make your passwords more effective.

Make easier, stronger passwords!  
It sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?  However complex passwords don't have to look like this *N@l2!kp)'.   Research has found that making passwords longer are the best way to make them stronger.  An excellent way to make them longer but make them simpler to remember is by using phrases or quotes, then using a salt (a security term) to make them more difficult.  Here is an example of a complex password that is hard to break:  "What we think, we b3come!"

oldschool-password.jpeg
This password is a variation of a Buddhist quote and salted with some special characters.  Since it is a sentence, it already comes equipped with some standard password strength requirements like mixing upper and lowercase characters and punctuation.  If you salt it with some numbers, you have an easy to remember and super strong password.

Managing Passwords
I did a count the other day on the number of sites, apps, devices and other things that I need to remember passwords.  The total number of passwords that I need to keep track of totals at 413.  That's a staggering amount, and it's easy to succumb to use one password for many of them.  One password to rule them all!  ...But of course, that is not a good idea.  It's sort of like investing all of your money in one place.  It is a bad idea. You need to diversify.  

The Danger of Reusing Your Password
It's simple.  It might be leaked and stolen.  We have seen some high-profile companies becoming compromised after hackers manage to breach their defences.  They steal and sell your passwords and personal information on the Dark Web.  There is a great website that lets you check if your account was one that has been leaked.  If you browse to https://haveibeenpwned.com/, you can check to see if your credentials are among the billions that have been stolen.  This allows you to take some action on those sites depending on what they stole.

Password Management
To help you remember all of those passwords that you need to create to all those sites you need some system.  Some people use a text file, a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet.  But I have recently started to use an app called LastPass (http://www.lastpass.com).  This password ecosystem allows you to capture the passwords you use on all of your online sites and offline devices and store them in a password vault.
 The system lets you categorize your passwords so they are easily found, and it works with all of your devices.  For example, I use it on my Mac laptop, my iPhone and Ipad and I have instant access to all my passwords at all times.  It works with Mac's, Windows, Android systems and also comes as a plug-in for most browsers.

Hopefully, you find these tips handy.  If you have any other tips, please leave them in the comments below.

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