How to Make Good Passwords the Easy Way
Think of your online accounts like your house. A password is the key to your front door. For a long time, people were told that the best passwords had to be super complicated, with lots of symbols and numbers.
But now, security experts say there’s a better and easier way to keep your accounts safe. Here are the three most important rules.
1. Longer is Always Better
The most important thing about a password is its length. A long password is much harder for a computer to guess than a short one.
Think of it like this:
A short, complex password like
P@ssw0rd!is like a small, tricky lock.A long password like
Four funny birds 2 flyis like a giant, heavy vault door.
Using the Bitwarden Password Strength Testing Tool, the estimated time to crack calculations for the password are:
P@ssw0rd! = 1 second
Four funny birds 2 fly = Centuries
NOTE: We do not recommend putting your actual passwords in any password testing tool. Instead, create a password that is similar to your real password and test that one.
Even though the second one uses simple words, its length makes it much stronger and safer. A good goal is to make your password at least 15 characters long. A great way to do this is by stringing together three or four random words you can easily remember.
2. “Complex” Passwords Aren’t Always Safe
You know how websites make you add a capital letter, a number, and a symbol? It turns out that most people follow the same patterns. They will capitalize the first letter and add a "1" or an "!" at the end.
Hackers know this. They program their computers to try these common tricks first. A long password made of simple words is much more random and harder for them to guess.
3. Use a Different Password for Everything
Imagine you have one single key that opens your house, your locker at school, and your bike lock. If you lose that key, someone can get into everything you own!
Using the same password everywhere is just like that. If a hacker steals your password from one website, they will try to use it on your other accounts, like your email, social media, and games. This is why every single account needs its own unique password. If one site gets hacked, all your other accounts will still be safe.
More Ways to Protect Your Accounts
Use a Password Manager. How can you remember all these long, different passwords? You don’t have to! A password manager is like a super-secure digital vault that creates and saves your passwords for you. You only have to remember one main password to unlock the app. There are many password managers on the market. Bitwarden is a well-regarded one: https://bitwarden.com
Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This is a huge security boost. It’s like having two locks on your door. After you type your password, you have to prove it's you with a second step, like entering a code that gets sent to your phone. Even if a hacker steals your password, they can't log in because they don't have your phone.