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Creating and remembering safe and secure passwords


Despite the huge advances in security technology, we have not yet found a true substitute for passwords. They remain pivotal to any security system. Although more secure forms of authentication are available - key cards, fingerprint ID machines, retinal scanners - passwords are simply the cheapest and easiest to use. They are also the only viable form of authentication that is available for online services.

Most people are too predictable in their choice of passwords. Left to their own devices, they often choose a password that is to short or to easy to guess. Passwords are about their identity. They tend to reveal themselves in their passwords. They often choose the name or birth date of a loved one; use their address or telephone number. These types of words are easily guessed, which makes the job of password cracking straightforward.

Choosing a password

Eliminate the things we are not allowed to use
  • Dictionary words (mackerel, dandelion, millionaire)


  • Foreign words (octobre, gesundheit, sayonara)


  • Simple transformations of words (tiny8, 7eleven, dude!)


  • Names, doubled names, first name and last initial (kittykitty, nancyw)


  • Uppercase or lowercase words (MAGAZINE, licorice)


  • An alphabet sequence (lmnop) or a keyboard sequence (ghjkl;)


  • Very short words or just one character (dog, *, hi!, me, love)


  • Words that have the vowels removed (sbtrctn, cntrlntllgnc)


  • Phone numbers


  • Numbers substituted for letters, like a zero instead of the letter O or a number 1 in place of the letter l


  • You must not use your car's registration!


  • You must not a numeric password with your birthdate!
So, where do we start?

Is   "c$jN7#Fv"   a good password. Yes, and No. There is a belief that totally random passwords created by random password generators are the best passwords. This is not always true. While they may be strong passwords, they are difficult to remember and slow to type. But, if you can handle that, then they should be your first choice.

The longer the password, the more difficult it is to crack. This decision is not always yours to make. Some access points requiring a password will not allow passwords longer that eight characters. You should set this number of characters as your minimum requirement for a password.

An ideal password should contain at least one item from each of the four character sets below :
uppercase letters
lowercase letters
numerals
special characters
 A, B, C
a, b, c
1, 2, 3
$, ?, &

A good password is easy to remember, but hard to guess

With that in mind, one of the easiest ways to generate - and remember - a complex password is to think, not in words, but in phrases.

As an example I will use the phrase...   SeattleSeahawksSingSadSongS4ME  
As an 8 character password it would read ....   SSSSS4ME

To meet the criteria outlined above I need to make a few changes.

As I already have capitals and a numeral the changes required are minimal.

I need to create a lower case letter ...   SSSSS4mE

I also need a special character...   SS$SS4mE

I now have a very easy to remember (for me) password...SS$SS4mE

And to answer the question a lot of you would like to ask - it doesn't matter!
If this password is be cracked, it will be done with a programme.
The programme doesn't care about consecutive identical characters.
It will attack each character on an individual basis.
Therefore, it is not hard to create an easy to remember password.

Most of the hacker tools in this area are American so the inclusion of a pound [ £ ] sign in passwords is capable of frustrating attacks. Probably only in the short term, but still a useful inclusion.


Using that thought process, difficult to crack passwords are EASY to generate.
Think in "easy to remember phrases"

You may like to use a nursery rhyme :
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Password : MHaLL=1?

or something relative to you

My Daughter Is Seven Her Name Is Kathy
Password : md=7HNiK

Just do what works for you

As mentioned before, A good password is easy to remember, but hard to guess

And you must also NEVER write down your password

Next ... Password Crackers
Most password crackers can try hundreds of word variations per second.

CLICK HERE to go to Password Crackers.



Vanish.Org Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved
>
Creating and remembering safe and secure passwords


Despite the huge advances in security technology, we have not yet found a true substitute for passwords. They remain pivotal to any security system. Although more secure forms of authentication are available - key cards, fingerprint ID machines, retinal scanners - passwords are simply the cheapest and easiest to use. They are also the only viable form of authentication that is available for online services.

Most people are too predictable in their choice of passwords. Left to their own devices, they often choose a password that is to short or to easy to guess. Passwords are about their identity. They tend to reveal themselves in their passwords. They often choose the name or birth date of a loved one; use their address or telephone number. These types of words are easily guessed, which makes the job of password cracking straightforward.

Choosing a password

Eliminate the things we are not allowed to use So, where do we start?

Is   "c$jN7#Fv"   a good password. Yes, and No. There is a belief that totally random passwords created by random password generators are the best passwords. This is not always true. While they may be strong passwords, they are difficult to remember and slow to type. But, if you can handle that, then they should be your first choice.

The longer the password, the more difficult it is to crack. This decision is not always yours to make. Some access points requiring a password will not allow passwords longer that eight characters. You should set this number of characters as your minimum requirement for a password.

An ideal password should contain at least one item from each of the four character sets below :
uppercase letters
lowercase letters
numerals
special characters
 A, B, C
a, b, c
1, 2, 3
$, ?, &

A good password is easy to remember, but hard to guess

With that in mind, one of the easiest ways to generate - and remember - a complex password is to think, not in words, but in phrases.

As an example I will use the phrase...   SeattleSeahawksSingSadSongS4ME  
As an 8 character password it would read ....   SSSSS4ME

To meet the criteria outlined above I need to make a few changes.

As I already have capitals and a numeral the changes required are minimal.

I need to create a lower case letter ...   SSSSS4mE

I also need a special character...   SS$SS4mE

I now have a very easy to remember (for me) password...SS$SS4mE

And to answer the question a lot of you would like to ask - it doesn't matter!
If this password is be cracked, it will be done with a programme.
The programme doesn't care about consecutive identical characters.
It will attack each character on an individual basis.
Therefore, it is not hard to create an easy to remember password.

Most of the hacker tools in this area are American so the inclusion of a pound [ £ ] sign in passwords is capable of frustrating attacks. Probably only in the short term, but still a useful inclusion.


Using that thought process, difficult to crack passwords are EASY to generate.
Think in "easy to remember phrases"

You may like to use a nursery rhyme :
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Password : MHaLL=1?

or something relative to you

My Daughter Is Seven Her Name Is Kathy
Password : md=7HNiK

Just do what works for you

As mentioned before, A good password is easy to remember, but hard to guess

And you must also NEVER write down your password

Next ... Password Crackers
Most password crackers can try hundreds of word variations per second.

CLICK HERE to go to Password Crackers.



Vanish.Org Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved