How Can I Create a Strong Password? Best Practices for Staying Safe Online

Today’s digital era has made people’s lives significantly easier by providing an almost unending amount of services on the Internet. However, every single one of these utilities or applications demands a unique identifier along with a password to access services. Creating a strong password is of utmost importance to prevent attackers from gaining unauthorized access to online accounts, which could potentially result in reputational or financial loss. Read on to discover how best practices for generating a strong password: 

Length matters 

First of all, your password should be long enough; a minimum of 12 characters is considered ideal, as it significantly increases the difficulty for hackers attempting to brute force such a lengthy password. Below, you’ll see the approximate time required to brute force passwords of different lengths 

Password Length Estimated Time to Brute Force 

3: Less than a second 

4: Minutes to hours 

5: Hours to days 

6: Days to weeks 

7: Weeks to months 

8: Months to years 

9: Years to decades 

10: Decades to centuries 

11: Centuries to millennia 

12: Millennia 

 

Use a mix of characters and symbols

Use a combination of characters, numbers, and both uppercase and lowercase letters to increase the complexity of the password. 

Avoid common passwords 

Avoid using the most common passwords that are widely used by people worldwide. Common passwords are the primary means through which hackers gain access to user accounts. 

Avoid using personal information 

Some people use their personal information as passwords, such as their family name, pet names, favorite car, or date of birth. These types of passwords are easily guessable by hackers. 

Choose a unique password for each account 

Avoid using the same password across multiple platforms. Doing so poses a high risk because a breach in one organization can lead to unauthorized access to all your accounts. 

Update regularly 

Even if your password is strong, update your passwords regularly. It will add an extra layer of protection to your online accounts.