How to Remember Passwords
Make a password from a list of random words., Take the first letter of each word in a sentence., Come up with a simple rule to adjust passwords to each site., Write down passwords securely., Consider a password manager., Avoid obvious passwords.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make a password from a list of random words.
This password is just four or five words in a row, such as "talkdeathplaidhonest." An old idea popularized by an XKCD comic, this system creates passwords that are easy to remember and quite secure.
The catch is, you must choose the words at random, for example by using a random word generator or flipping through a book.
People who choose the words themselves are much more likely to pick certain types of words, which makes the password much easier for a hacker to guess., Create a unique sentence that you find easy to memorize, then use the first letter of each word as a password.
Preserve the capitalization and punctuation.
A familiar fact or a story from your life is easy to memorize, but avoid simple statements that someone who knows you could guess.
A lie about your life is even better, if you can remember it.If you're required to include numbers, replace "to" with "2" and "for" with "4," or come up with a sentence that includes a number.
For example, the sentence "It was no fun breaking my tooth when I was
12." becomes "IwnfbmtwIw12." Do not use famous quotes or song lyrics, as some hackers test for this system using a quote database., No one wants to memorize dozens of unrelated passwords, but reusing the same one is even worse.
One compromise is to start with one "base password," then adjust it with a rule based on account-specific info such as login name or site name.This is not secure if someone is targeting you personally, but it's an easy way to memorize passwords that should survive mass cracking attempts (when hackers are targeting the service's database).
For example, let's say your base password is RoM4,5zi,. (You can start with something easier to memorize, but that can make your "rule" more obvious if one password is compromised.) Let's say your rule is "Add the second, fifth, and sixth letters of your login name to the front of your base." On website 1, your login name is "MechaBob." The 2nd, 5th, and 6th letters are eaB, so your password for this site is "eaBRoM4,5zi." On website 2, your login name is "RobertMarshall," Your password here is "ortRoM4,5zi."
If you must write your passwords down, keep them in a secret, private location away from your computer.
Instead of just writing down your full login info — a disaster if someone finds the notebook — try one of these systems to make them more secure:
Keep one notebook with a numbered list of your accounts, e.g. "1.
Work Email,
2.
Auction Site." Keep a second notebook in a different room with a numbered list of passwords.
Write the passwords down in code, such as an alphabet cipher, shifted one key left on the keyboard, or anything else you can come up with.
This could delay a thief long enough for you to change your passwords, at least.
Instead of writing down passwords, write down hints for yourself. , After installing a password manager, the software creates and remembers secure passwords for each of your accounts.
All you need to do is choose one secure password for the manager — and since this protects everything, this had better be 16 characters long and completely un-guessable.
This is much more secure than using the same weak password for every site, but you are creating one point of failure.
Services that store your master password in the cloud are more vulnerable to attack.The "remember your password" feature that came with your browser or computer is not a secure password manager. , Unfortunately, the easiest passwords to memorize are also the easiest to guess.
Do not rely on these common techniques:
Never use a famous date in your life, the name or initials of yourself or a relative, or other obvious personal details.
Even a hacker who doesn't know you may test passwords that follow these common formats.
Avoid obvious patterns. "Orange Yellow Green Red" is much easier to guess than "Orange Capture History Dress." Numerical series like "4567" are the worst of all.
Obvious substitutions such as 1 for i or $ for S do not increase security, and make your password harder to remember.
The only reason to do this is for accounts that require numbers or symbols in the password. -
Step 2: Take the first letter of each word in a sentence.
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Step 3: Come up with a simple rule to adjust passwords to each site.
-
Step 4: Write down passwords securely.
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Step 5: Consider a password manager.
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Step 6: Avoid obvious passwords.
Detailed Guide
This password is just four or five words in a row, such as "talkdeathplaidhonest." An old idea popularized by an XKCD comic, this system creates passwords that are easy to remember and quite secure.
The catch is, you must choose the words at random, for example by using a random word generator or flipping through a book.
People who choose the words themselves are much more likely to pick certain types of words, which makes the password much easier for a hacker to guess., Create a unique sentence that you find easy to memorize, then use the first letter of each word as a password.
Preserve the capitalization and punctuation.
A familiar fact or a story from your life is easy to memorize, but avoid simple statements that someone who knows you could guess.
A lie about your life is even better, if you can remember it.If you're required to include numbers, replace "to" with "2" and "for" with "4," or come up with a sentence that includes a number.
For example, the sentence "It was no fun breaking my tooth when I was
12." becomes "IwnfbmtwIw12." Do not use famous quotes or song lyrics, as some hackers test for this system using a quote database., No one wants to memorize dozens of unrelated passwords, but reusing the same one is even worse.
One compromise is to start with one "base password," then adjust it with a rule based on account-specific info such as login name or site name.This is not secure if someone is targeting you personally, but it's an easy way to memorize passwords that should survive mass cracking attempts (when hackers are targeting the service's database).
For example, let's say your base password is RoM4,5zi,. (You can start with something easier to memorize, but that can make your "rule" more obvious if one password is compromised.) Let's say your rule is "Add the second, fifth, and sixth letters of your login name to the front of your base." On website 1, your login name is "MechaBob." The 2nd, 5th, and 6th letters are eaB, so your password for this site is "eaBRoM4,5zi." On website 2, your login name is "RobertMarshall," Your password here is "ortRoM4,5zi."
If you must write your passwords down, keep them in a secret, private location away from your computer.
Instead of just writing down your full login info — a disaster if someone finds the notebook — try one of these systems to make them more secure:
Keep one notebook with a numbered list of your accounts, e.g. "1.
Work Email,
2.
Auction Site." Keep a second notebook in a different room with a numbered list of passwords.
Write the passwords down in code, such as an alphabet cipher, shifted one key left on the keyboard, or anything else you can come up with.
This could delay a thief long enough for you to change your passwords, at least.
Instead of writing down passwords, write down hints for yourself. , After installing a password manager, the software creates and remembers secure passwords for each of your accounts.
All you need to do is choose one secure password for the manager — and since this protects everything, this had better be 16 characters long and completely un-guessable.
This is much more secure than using the same weak password for every site, but you are creating one point of failure.
Services that store your master password in the cloud are more vulnerable to attack.The "remember your password" feature that came with your browser or computer is not a secure password manager. , Unfortunately, the easiest passwords to memorize are also the easiest to guess.
Do not rely on these common techniques:
Never use a famous date in your life, the name or initials of yourself or a relative, or other obvious personal details.
Even a hacker who doesn't know you may test passwords that follow these common formats.
Avoid obvious patterns. "Orange Yellow Green Red" is much easier to guess than "Orange Capture History Dress." Numerical series like "4567" are the worst of all.
Obvious substitutions such as 1 for i or $ for S do not increase security, and make your password harder to remember.
The only reason to do this is for accounts that require numbers or symbols in the password.
About the Author
Jason Thompson
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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