Nora Brown Design

How to generate strong passwords

In my latest newsletter, I provided several tips on password security. But how can you generate a strong, unique, and easy-to-remember password for every site you use?

Mac OSX Hints and Google both have some helpful hints, summarized here.

Passphrase method

Instead of thinking in terms of passwords, think in terms of passphrases. These can be more easily related to a specific site.

1. For example, for your bank’s website, you could think of the phrase “I am going to be filthy stinking rich one day.”
2. Then, take the first (or last) letter of each word in the phrase: Iagtbfsrod.
3. Now, substitute in some numbers: Iag2bfsr1d.
4. Next, you might add in some non-alphanumeric characters as well: Iag2bfs$1d!

Looking pretty random!

Spacial method

If your memory works a little differently, you might prefer the spacial method, wherein you type characters based on their position on the keyboard (this assumes that you’ll always be using the same keyboard layout).

1. First, think of a couple of base letters. For our bank website example, you might choose the first and last letter of your bank’s name. Let’s say “c” and “e”.
2. Then, type a pattern starting from each of those letters: cbj,met7iu. If you check your keyboard, you’ll see the shapes I’ve typed.
3. We’ve already got a number and a non-alphanumeric character, but add in a couple of caps as well: cBj,meT7iu.

Voilà! These passwords would be very hard to guess, yet are easy to remember.