Your passwords are the passports that give you access into your business devices and accounts. Therefore, ensuring that these passwords are secure should be of high priority. Here are a few tips on creating secure passwords that aim to keep your accounts further away from hackers.

Avoid Creating Passwords Like These

In order to create secure passwords, it is good to know what kind of passwords to avoid initially. The first tip to keep in mind is to make sure that your password is at least over 8 characters long. Ideally, you want to keep it around 12-15+ characters long. However, any password of 8 characters or less is a weak password. In fact, a 25-GPU cluster that was created by a hacker can actually make 350 billion guesses per second when trying to hack through an 8 character password. The longer you make your password the longer it takes for a hacker to crack it.

Another type of password to avoid is one that is made up of only letters or only numbers. By mixing letters and numbers together as well as adding in special characters you increase the number of potential variables exponentially.

Also, avoid using common words or numbers for your passwords. Names, birthdates, pets, cars, birth cities, addresses, etc. may be easy to remember. However, they are even easier to crack.

How to Create Secure Passwords

Most people create a password that is made up of a word that is surrounded by a few special characters and numbers. For example, “Charcoal&19” seems like good password, since it has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, different numbers, a special character and is over 8 characters long. However, because most hacking machines are assisted by word lists that contain hundreds of millions of words, using passwords is not a good idea when it comes to creating a secure password.

A better method instead is to use passphrases. This is where your creativity must come in. Think about a phrase that is personal to you and then create out of it an uncommon password. If the phrase is 12 words long then use the first letter of each word in the phrase. Then make some of those letters upper case, while leaving the others lower cased. Add in special characters like an “@” for the letter “a” or a “!” for a letter “L”. Make it simple for you, but complicated for others.

Ultimately, you should aim to follow these guidelines when it comes to creating secure passwords:

• Have your password be at least 12 characters long (longer is actually even better)
• Use a mix of upper- and lower-case letters
• Do not use dictionary words
• Add in numbers
• Add in symbols and special characters
• Do not use common words or numbers

Don’t Forget Your Passwords

Of course, this tip sounds like common sense. However, in the midst of life and chaos it is possible for one to forget his or her password (even if only for a moment). This is where a password manager comes in. A password management program is an essential for every business, especially yours. It will remember your passwords for you, while storing them securely.

Guard Your Passwords

Whether you are logging in at your own office desk or at the airport lounge, always try to keep an eye out for the eyes around you. If your creative passphrase is personal enough then you should be the only one who has any idea of what it is. But you never know who may be around you. Therefore, be discreet when in putting your passwords, whether it be into your business telecom account or any other account or device.

Remember: Your passwords are your passports, so keep them somewhere safe and secure from anyone else.