How can you come up with a strong password? How to come up with a strong password? Tips and tricks

Welcome to the blog site! I have long wanted to write an article about what the password for an account should be so that it would be very difficult to hack it. This article will teach you how to create a complex password. We will look at techniques that will help not only make your password secure, but also not difficult for you to remember.

Now we can no longer imagine our life without the Internet. Almost every site requests registration. The most popular resources are social networks. Every day, millions of users log into their accounts. We risk making a lot of mistakes by sending important data in messages. It’s good to have a complex password for VK or another popular social network, this helps protect yourself from intruders.

Several password complication methods

What should the password be? This question is asked by hundreds of Internet users. The following types of passwords are distinguished:

• alphabetic;
• symbolic;
• digital;
• combined (combination of previous options);
• register usage.

The first three types do not inspire confidence. These are too simple ways to create a password. Due to inexperience, we make mistakes and set them up. Okay, this will be a “password” for an account on a forum or other similar place. And, if this is the entrance to a bank office, all your money will be lost. The only thing that saves you is that the security service of such sites has developed a system for rejecting easy passwords.

Letters, numbers and symbols

A combination of letters, symbols and numbers is the most secure type of password. You have to seriously rack your brain to guess it.

Experienced “users” advise beginners to use this particular combination. Also, don't make it too short. A long combination will allow you to keep your data and correspondence safe from third parties.

The main thing is not to use the banal phrases below:

• "123";
• "123456";
• "321";
• "qwerty";
• "asdfg".

These and other similar sets of characters from the keyboard guarantee hacking. It’s not just you who come to mind first, but hundreds of people. They will be calculated not even by a special program, but usually by an ill-wisher.

How to choose a password for mail or other type of authorization? This issue is worth tackling on your own. Several more password complication options will help.

Register

Before entering your username and password, you should pay attention to the case sensitivity of some forms. Combining uppercase and lowercase letters will make the password more secure.

When writing a secret word, think about its variety. Alternate capital and small letters one or more at a time. This method will seriously upset online villains.

The most annoying thing is if you forget the order yourself. According to the recommendation of experienced users, it is worth making the first character uppercase, the second lowercase, and then alternate one at a time. It is better to take note of this advice so as not to rack your brains later.

You can do without introducing case features into the “password”, but this is still another method to increase the complexity of the password.

Changelings

The date of birth that any user will remember is the most banal and simplest way. If you play it correctly, it can turn out to be a good option. Using the “reversal”, many have managed to create a winning password that is unlikely to be solved.

The method is based on writing characters in reverse order. Choose any date, for example, when you were born and type the text backwards. If you have the phrase “081978” in mind, then turning it over, we get “879180”. It is quite easy to remember how to write such a password.

Let's consider other more complex ideas. Let's assume that the password is based on your first and last name. We type, already knowing the technique using the register - “PeTrPeTrOv”. Now let’s use the “shifter” tactics. We use the date, for example, when the user was born - February 21, 1982. Plus we’ll add symbols to everything. At the end we get the following example password - “PeTrPeTrOv!28912012”. The result was stunning, because for the “user” it is simple and easy, but not for attackers.

Check the strength and security of your password using online services:

• https://password.kaspersky.com/ru/
• https://howsecureismypassword.net/

Encryption

What should the password be? Let's find out another great way. Let's look at the principle of encryption. In fact, all the previously discussed methods have something in common with this. Here we will show what passwords are by encrypting phrases.

We take the most meaningless and unique phrase that will easily be remembered. Let there be “space cockroaches”. You can use any lines from songs and poems, preferably not very well known.

Then we apply a cipher to our phrase. Let's look at a few surefire ways:

• rewriting a Russian word on an English layout;
• "shifter";
• replacing letters with symbols that are similar in appearance (for example, “o” - “()”, “i” - “!”, “a” - “@”);
• removing paired or unpaired characters;
• dropping consonants or vowels;
• addition of special characters and numbers.

So, let's think of a few words with meaning - “space cockroaches”. We take 4 letters from each, we get “komtara”. Switch to English and retype – “rjcvnfhf”. We complicate it by starting the cipher with a capital letter and adding symbols.

This is what the password should be, using the example of the originally conceived phrase - “Rjcvnfhf@955”.

A reliable combination with a large number of symbols has been invented. The strength of the password is checked using special services, for example, passwodmetr.com. The combination, as we were able to do, was not easy for the scammers to guess, since the user’s personal data is not involved. But for the “user” such a “password” is a godsend, since remembering such a reliable password will not be difficult.

Generator

For those who do not want to spend extra time thinking, developers have long invented complex password generators. This method provides some degree of reliability. The best ones are still considered to be “passwords” invented by one’s own mind.

What is a generator and how to use it? This is a smart program that displays random passwords - completely random combinations. He uses many of the methods discussed, but does not take into account “turnovers”.

The complex password generator is downloaded from the Internet. For example, let's take "keepass". Like any other generator, it is not difficult to operate. The application and the generation itself are launched by pressing a special button. After the operation is completed, the PC issues a password option. The only thing left to do is to enter the resulting combination in unchanged form or with additions.

Difficult passwords created by the iron friend are very difficult to remember. Rarely does anyone keep them in their mind; more often they have to be written down. There are usually a lot of passwords, because we don’t sit on one site and constantly register again and again on other resources. Therefore, storing a bunch of such information is not convenient for everyone. You can completely lose all the papers with notes.

There is one way out with storage - print them in a computer file. This is one of the most reliable cases. You just have to remember that the PC system does not last forever and also becomes unusable.

All methods for creating complex passwords have already been discussed above, and you can create an email password that will reliably protect your data from third parties.

Here are some useful tips for creating passwords:

• do not mention personal information about the user (names of relatives, names of pets, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, etc.);
• You cannot use the Cyrillic alphabet in your password;
• do not use phrases that can be easily calculated using a dictionary of popular passwords (yaster, love, alfa, samsung, cat, mercedes and other similar ones, as well as their other derivatives and combinations);
• take into account the length of characters - preferably at least 10;
• complicate the password using a combination of various methods - upper and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols;
• do not use the most common passwords - templates, think original (a robot that calculates your password cannot be as smart as a person).

Only at first glance, impenetrable passwords do not contain a logical structure and look like gobbledygook. Complex passwords are such only for those who do not know the recipe for creating them. You don't have to remember letter cases, numbers, special characters and their order. All you have to do is choose a memorable one and follow simple tips for creating strong passwords.

Nursery rhymes

We take any children's rhyme or counting rhyme as the basis for the password. It is advisable that it is found only in your area and is not generally known. And better than your own composition! Although any children's rhymes will do, the main thing is that the lines are firmly stuck in your head from a young age.

The password will consist of the first letters of each word. Moreover, the letter will be written in uppercase if it is the first in the sentence. We replace some letters with numbers similar in spelling (for example, “h” with “4”, “o” with “0”, “z” with “3”). If you don’t want to get too confused with replacing letters with numbers, look for a counting rhyme that already contains numbers. Don't forget about punctuation marks that separate words and sentences - they will come in handy.

Example:

The turtle has its tail between its legs

And she ran after the hare.

Got ahead

Who doesn't believe it - come out!

We replace the letters “h”, “z” and “o” with similar numbers. The second, third and fourth lines begin with capital letters and are therefore written in uppercase. Include four punctuation marks. Of course, we write in Russian letters, but on the English keyboard layout.

The 17-character password is ready! It may not be perfect because it contains repeated characters and consecutive lowercase letters and numbers. But it would certainly be hard to call it simple.

Favorite sayings

The scheme is similar to children's counting rhymes. Only as a basis you take your favorite and very memorable phrases of thinkers, celebrities or movie characters. You can complicate your life somewhat by replacing the letter “h” not with “4”, but with “5”, for example. There are never too many confusing maneuvers!

Example:

I found out that I have

There is a huge family:

River, field and forest,

In the field - every spikelet...

Replace the letter “h” with “8”, do not forget about upper case and punctuation marks.

Ze,8evTjc^H,g,bk,Dg-rr…

Jargon and terminology

This implies the use of professional jargon that is understandable to an extremely narrow number of people. These words are much more distant from the average person than the criminal sayings that are widely covered on television and the streets of any city.

For example, you can use a hospital discharge or a tricky medical definition.

Example:

Cyclopentaneperhydrophenanthrene is a 28-letter term. It turns out to be a bit long, so I propose to throw out the vowels and dilute the remaining consonants with upper case.

Memorable dates

Of course, your birthday or the day you start your married life is not the best basis for a password. The event should be of exceptional importance, and only you should know about it. For example, this could be the day you ate gum for the first time, ran away from class, or broke your heel. Since the password will be based on numbers, it would be a good idea to mix them with letters.

Example:

10/22/1983 and 06/16/2011

Replace the dots separating the day, month and year with any letter, for example the small English “l”, which is very similar to the quite commonly used separator “/”. Between dates we will put an underscore character “_”. Let's replace the zeros with the letters "o".

Visual Key

Use the smartphone unlocking technique on your keyboard as well. Think of any shape and “slide” your finger along its contours.

Don't forget to go through the numbers, change the horizontal and vertical direction of movement. And, unlike me, be imaginative!

Conclusion

The proposed methods for creating a password that is memorable, but at the same time quite difficult to understand, can be changed and combined at your discretion. It is enough to think about your super password once, and you can use it without fear in the presence of a stranger.

How do you choose your password?

Today, every user has to work with many services in . For your profile on social networks, on entertainment and professional sites, for your email inbox, for access to your bank account, you need to come up with one that will be difficult to hack even for an experienced hacker, because personal information is often fraught with material losses.

What password is considered weak?

When registering for the next one, you need to remember several criteria that must be taken into account. Passwords for different services must be different!

You can't come up with simple passwords. Examples of such passwords are 123, 12345, 321, 654321, 123456789, qwerty, password, (your date), (your first name/last name/patronymic), (name of your favorite cat) and the like.

The password should not be short. It is advisable to come up with a password that is at least 8-10 characters long.

Two very simple ways to come up with a strong password

First way. Type letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and special characters (for example, &, %, ), >, etc.) in a random order in a text editor.

Second way. Remember a long word and write it in the English layout (for example, long-necked - lkbyyjittt), then replace some letters with capital ones, and insert several numbers and special characters between them. You should get something like - l2k9byY2@-ji+ttT.

MirSovetov found that Internet users, when coming up with passwords for their accounts, often make the same mistakes. Let's take a closer look at which protection will be easiest for hackers to crack:

1. A forward or reverse sequence of numbers is considered the most common password options. The first thing that comes to mind for a person who wants to get to personal data is to enter the combination “123456...” or the same numbers, but in reverse order, into the required field.
2. The second most popular password is the word “password”; the combination of letters “qwerty” is not inferior to it in popularity.
3. Internet users often enter as a password the name of the service in whose account they are creating protection.
4. Many people like to use their first or last name, date of birth or email address as a password. This data can be used in various combinations, written in uppercase letters or supplemented with combinations of numbers, but experienced hackers can easily break such protection if necessary.
5. Instead of their data, Internet users often use the data of their relatives: husband, children, parents. In this case, the keyword may be the child’s name or date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc. Popular password options also include the name of a pet, the make or number of a car, and the name of your hometown.
6. The sequence of letters on the keyboard can also be classified as a simple and unreliable type of protection. Such sequences are very easy to calculate using special programs that will select the appropriate one from a variety of options in just a few minutes.
7. Simple words like “money”, “love”, “friendship”, “happiness” can also be considered dubious types of personal data protection.
8. Modern hacking programs have a special function for recognizing modifications, so replacing letters in simple words with similar symbols will not help. Such a utility can easily recognize the letter “A” or “H” in the number 4, and the letter “O” in the number “0”.
9. Simple passwords also include simple sentences like “I love you.”
10. A very common mistake many people make is using the same passwords in different services. Any hacker, having cracked one password, will not be too lazy to check it on other accounts.

What should be a strong password?

1. The main rule is to use different passwords for all Internet accounts.
2. The security word or phrase must not be associated with the user's personal data. Avoid including first names, last names, dates of birth, pet names, etc. in your password.
3. It is desirable that for an outsider the password looks like an illogical sequence of words, letters or numbers. At the same time, the protective combination must be logical for the user himself, otherwise he will simply forget it.
4. The phone number should also not become a password.
5. The password must not be shared with anyone, especially strangers. Remember that even a call from a bank or other organization asking for such information is in many cases the work of scammers.
6. Some services send a temporary password by email after registering an account. This combination must be changed immediately after you enter the site.
7. You should not store passwords in your browser or on your computer desktop.
8. The security word must be long enough and contain not only letters, but also numbers and other valid characters.
9. To create a password, you can use a special generator. There are quite a lot of similar programs; among the popular services we can highlight the following: onlinepasswordgenerator.ru, securrity.ru, sadesign.pro, genpas.net. Using programs, you can not only create unique passwords, but also check your own combinations for reliability. For this purpose, use one of the following services: blog.kaspersky.ru, parolemanager.com or earninguide.biz.
10. Try not to log into your accounts from other people's computers, especially in Internet cafes or gaming clubs. In such places, you are likely to stumble upon a spyware program that reads the sequence of keystrokes on the keyboard.
11. Passwords should be changed periodically. The more reliable the protection, the less often you will have to do this, but even a long 12-digit combination of letters and numbers must be changed at least once every 2 years.

Ideas for creating a password

To come up with an original password that will be difficult to crack, use a counting rhyme or short rhyme that you know well. Take the first letter from each word of such a rhyme, replace some of them with similar symbols, for example, replace the letters “o” with “0”, replace “z” with the number “3”, and the letter “h” with the number “4”. You can also use punctuation marks in the password if they are in the poem. For additional security, Cyrillic letters can be written in the Latin layout.

Instead of a quatrain or counting rhyme, some favorite saying is quite suitable. This could be a favorite philosophical quote, a famous phrase of a movie character, etc. The principle of creating a password in this case is the same as when using a counting rhyme. By the way, for greater complexity, some letters can be replaced not by similar numbers, but by some others. For example, instead of “h” you can write not “4”, but “8”, “5” or any other symbol.

As a protective word, you can use a specific term known to a narrow circle of specialists in a particular field. This is where technical or medical definitions, such as complex drug names, can come in handy.

It is not recommended to include the date of birth of yourself or someone close to you in your password, but this does not mean that you cannot use other memorable dates. Such a number could, for example, indicate the day of the first kiss. The main thing is that the date is known only to you or a very limited circle of people. Instead of dots dividing the day, month and year, it is better to enter some symbol or letter.

To create a password, a so-called visual key can be used. Visually draw some simple drawing on the computer keyboard, for example, a cheerful face. Click in order on the keys through which your drawing passes.

How to save your password

Having come up with a complex and original password, the most important thing is not to forget it later. In order not to rely solely on your memory, a combination of symbols can be written down and saved in different ways:

1. The easiest way is to copy the security word onto a piece of paper and hide it in your favorite book or put it on a closet shelf. It is not recommended to write the password in a notepad, as attackers can steal the organizer.
2. The combination of characters can be recorded in mobile phone notes, but the note itself cannot be signed with the word “passwords” or any similar definitions.
3. The password can also be saved on your computer, but to do this you will need to disguise the file well. To do this, you can change the text extension to a graphic one and hide the file in a folder with pictures. To open a document, you will need to right-click on it and select a text editor from the list of programs.

Internet users have become smarter over the past few years. No seriously. If earlier my friends complained about the constant hacking of their mailboxes or pages on social networks such as VKontakte or Odnoklassniki, today they come up with such a problem much less often. Not least of all, this has to do with the password - the most important part of any account, which for some reason is very often neglected. And in vain.

Imagine that you have a page on a social network or, for example, an account on Skype. If an attacker gains access to the same Skype, he can spend the funds in your account. At the same time, you will not be able to present anything to the company itself, since you are responsible for your account. Or another case - someone opened yours and started sending spam to your friends. Who might benefit from this? No one, and only you will be to blame.

But before we start talking about the main topic of our article today, I would like to make a small digression. I want to tell you that even an extremely complex password consisting of 50 characters cannot protect you if you neglect simple security rules. Why?

• The first reason is that you save the password in the browser. Never, remember, never, under any circumstances, do this! There is a type of Trojan that, when it reaches the user’s computer, checks the saved contents of the browser and, if saved data is found, transfers the information to the attacker, without you even knowing about it! Therefore, always write down all important data (the same password) in a diary or on a piece of paper to which only you have access.

• The second reason: it is a continuation of the first. If someone has obtained data from your account on a social network, then they will probably try to use this password on other resources where you are also registered. This is why some users lose their mailboxes so easily - they use the same password everywhere! You can't do that! For each site, create your own unique combination of symbols!

• The third reason: phishing sites. Alas, not one of us is immune from them. A phishing site is a fake site whose design completely copies some popular resource. Very often, for example, the same “VKontakte” is faked - you go to its exact copy, which is not on the vk.com domain, but, say, on vkkkk.com. After you enter your profile data, it will instantly go to the attacker, although you yourself will not be able to access your page - after all, this is a completely different site, only outwardly similar to VK! Therefore, always carefully monitor the domain names of sites where you enter your valuable login and password. (You can also get to a phishing site by changing the hosts file, but we’ll talk about that next time).

• The fourth reason: keyloggers. A keylogger is a small program, launched, as a rule, without notifying the user, which remembers all his actions: every keystroke, mouse movement, etc. Most often, keyloggers are used by jealous people who want to catch their significant other writing a love letter to an unknown person, but often such programs get onto the computer from the World Wide Web and are used by bad guys to steal data, because everything typed on the keyboard is saved in a file, which is then sent to intruders.

Are you tired yet? I hope not, but modern reality is a very cruel thing and you need to be prepared for it. These are just a few of the main reasons why people lose access to their accounts. Therefore, follow the rules that we wrote about just above and then the risk of getting into a similar situation will be reduced to a minimum.

How to come up with a complex password?

Well, friends, now we move on to the most interesting part, namely, we will learn how to create complex passwords. In fact, there is nothing new in the system that will be discussed below, it’s just that many users are not even aware of it.

Where to begin? Perhaps this is why - the minimum number of characters cannot be less than 8. Why exactly 8? According to recent studies, words of 7 digits or less are selected much faster than words of 8, not to mention something larger (for some reasons the difference in selection time is very large). However, we advise you to slightly increase the number of digits to at least 12-14 - in this case, it will be almost impossible to select symbols programmatically, it will take years!

So, now about the most important thing. Take some simple Russian word. Let's say the word is "wallet." Now we take it and write it on the English layout, that is, we have succeeded, evf;ybr. An excellent set of characters, it must be noted. Now at the beginning or at the end we add one capital letter - V. It turns out V,evf;ybr. Quite good, but that's not all. In the final part, we add some arbitrary number, for example, the year of your birth - 1975. The final password turns out like this: V,evf;ybr1975. It has 13 characters, including letters of different cases, numbers and special characters. Believe me, it will be so difficult for an attacker to find this word that he, most likely, will not even be able to do it!

The password, which you can see just above, is given for informational purposes only and is NOT NECESSARY to use! You can come up with it yourself by following our instructions. Just don't forget your password! To prevent this from happening, write down a set of symbols in your diary or in some notebook and hide it away from human eyes. There is no need to write it down in your phone - someone can see it there, and if the phone is also stolen, then...

By the way, there are special programs for automatically generating and storing passwords on a computer, but I don’t recommend using them - despite the fact that the data is securely hidden in the program, something can happen to the computer and then you can say goodbye to your data "... Be careful!