This is the First Article in the Help Yourself! Series, written to simplify the work of a novice or enlighten a veteran! Let’s get started.

Well, each one of us has many web accounts. Either to check mail, or to go social, or to listen to music, or to shop, or to bank – we require passwords to get started. But, we usually have trouble choosing the right password.

We could either choose one with multiple common words, or names, or a single complicated word which has a mix of Upper Case, Lower Case, Special characters etc.

Many people have debated about this. Which is correct and which is not? Everyone has varied opinions. Memorizing simple passwords is easy,but people fear that they can be easily cracked. Some tend to use complex words for passwords, and end up forgetting them. Some even go to the extent of writing it down on a sticky note, and pasting it on their Desktop.

So, how do we choose an easy to remember password, which is difficult to crack? As you see, it is not as tough as it seems to be. After a bit of research and math, many found out this :

Using Multiple Common Words as Password is Much Better than Using a Single Complicated Word

Confused? Check this out:

Password Strength

Thus, if you use a complex password, chances are that you will forget it more easily, and even then, it is easier for a pro Hacker to crack it in about three to seven days! We don’t change our passwords that frequently and so, our privacy and security will be compromised sooner or later. But, if we choose 4 or 5 common words as password, it will not only be very difficult for anyone to crack,  but also very easy for us to remember.

Having surfed about it for quite a long time, I have come across this interesting finding by one Mr. Anders Kaseorg:

The reason that multi-word passwords are secure does not rely on “security by obscurity”; it relies on the vast number of combinations of multiple words.  Thus, even an attacker who knows that you use this kind of password still needs to try an average of 2^43 of them before discovering the right one.

But, try to randomize the words instead of making them a meaningful one. That makes it more difficult for the attacker to know it. Whether you accomplish this using more words, a bigger vocabulary, gibberish strings of letters, numbers, or symbols is up to you

For example, Consider these passwords with roughly equivalent levels of security:

• mouse concerned tent liquid : four common words

    combinations

• llancaiach lektury : two very obscure words

   combinations

• 5672494208949 : thirteen digits

   combinations

• boishduajyak : twelve letters of pronounceable gibberish

   combinations

• IexXmLyC : eight random uppercase or lowercase letters

   combinations

• ฐጃॳ : three random Unicode characters:

   combinations

As you can probably see, for a given level of security, the multiple words method is much more likely to result in passwords that you’ll actually be willing to memorize, instead of writing them on a sticky note attached to your monitor or using the same password on every website.

Choosing such a password helps protect yourself from the vulnerabilities. So, choose wisely!

Sri Teja Prabhala

I am Sri Teja. I am a funny guy who wants everyone around me to be happy. I am a Tech Holic, who likes to be up to date about the latest tech news and gadgets that are released. You know more about me, once you talk to me.

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