How to create a strong password?

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Create strong passwords

Strong passwords are important protections to help you have safer online transactions.

Keys to password strength: length and complexity

An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.

• Whenever possible, use eight characters or more.
• Don't use the same password for everything. Cybercriminals steal passwords on websites with very little security, and then they try to use that same password and user name in more secure environments, such as banking websites.
• Change your passwords often. Set an automatic reminder for yourself to change your passwords on your email, banking, and credit card websites about every three months.
• The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better. However, password hacking software automatically checks for common letter-to-symbol conversions, such as changing "and" to "&" or "to" to "2."
• Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.

Create a strong password you can remember

There are many ways to create a long, complex password. Here are some suggestions that might help you remember it easily:

What to do	Example
Start with a sentence or two.	Complex passwords are safer.
Remove the spaces between the words in the sentence.	Complexpasswordsaresafer.
Turn words into shorthand or intentionally misspell a word.	ComplekspasswordsRsafer.
Add length with numbers. Put numbers that are meaningful to you after the sentence.	ComplekspasswordsRsafer2011.

Test your password with a password checker

A password checker evaluates your password's strength automatically. Try our secure password checker.

Protect your passwords from prying eyes

The easiest way to "remember" passwords is to write them down. It is okay to write passwords down, but keep the written passwords in a secure place.

Common password pitfalls to avoid

Cyber criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly decipher passwords.
Avoid creating passwords that use:

• Dictionary words in any language.
• Words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and abbreviations.
• Sequences or repeated characters. Examples: 12345678, 222222, abcdefg, or adjacent letters on your keyboard (qwerty).
• Personal information. Your name, birthday, driver's license, passport number, or similar information.

Windows: Tips for creating a strong password

Tips for creating a strong password

Applies to Windows

In this page

• What makes a password strong (or weak)?
• Creating stronger passwords using ASCII characters

Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer. The stronger your password, the more protected your computer will be from hackers and malicious software. You should make sure you have strong passwords for all accounts on your computer. If you're using a corporate network, your network administrator might require you to use a strong password.

What makes a password strong (or weak)?

A strong password:

• Is at least eight characters long.
• Does not contain your user name, real name, or company name.
• Does not contain a complete word.
• Is significantly different from previous passwords.
• Contains characters from each of the following four categories:

  Character category	Examples
  Uppercase letters	A, B, C
  Lowercase letters	a, b, c
  Numbers	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  Symbols found on the keyboard (all keyboard characters not defined as letters or numerals) and spaces	` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ - + = { } [ ] \ | : ; " ' < > , . ? /

A password might meet all the criteria above and still be a weak password. For example, Hello2U! meets all the criteria for a strong password listed above, but is still weak because it contains a complete word. H3ll0 2 U! is a stronger alternative because it replaces some of the letters in the complete word with numbers and also includes spaces.

Help yourself remember your strong password by following these tips:

• Create an acronym from an easy-to-remember piece of information. For example, pick a phrase that is meaningful to you, such as My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004. Using that phrase as your guide, you might use Msbi12/Dec,4 for your password.
• Substitute numbers, symbols, and misspellings for letters or words in an easy-to-remember phrase. For example, My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004 could become Mi$un's Brthd8iz 12124 (it's OK to use spaces in your password).
• Relate your password to a favorite hobby or sport. For example, I love to play badminton could become ILuv2PlayB@dm1nt()n.

If you feel you must write down your password in order to remember it, make sure you don't label it as your password, and keep it in a safe place.

Creating stronger passwords using ASCII characters

You can also create passwords that use extended ASCII characters. Using extended ASCII characters helps make your password more secure by increasing the number of characters you can choose from to create a strong password. Before using extended ASCII characters in your password, make sure that passwords containing them are compatible with the programs that are used by you or your organization. Be especially cautious about using extended ASCII characters in passwords if your organization uses several different operating systems or versions of Windows.

You can find extended ASCII characters in Character Map. Some extended ASCII characters should not be used in passwords. Do not use a character if a keystroke is not defined for it in the lower-right corner of the Character Map dialog box. For more information, see Using special characters (Character Map): frequently asked questions.

Windows passwords can be much longer than the eight characters recommended above. In fact, you can make a password up to 127 characters long. However, if you are on a network that also has computers running Windows 95 or Windows 98, consider using a password that is no longer than 14 characters. If your password is longer than 14 characters, you might not be able to log on to your network from computers running those operating systems.

See also

• Change your Windows password
• Create a password reset disk
• Protect your computer with a password
• Troubleshoot Windows passwords problems

If you want to create a strong Password: Use Password Generator

Password Generator

https://identitysafe.norton.com/password-generator#

Use the Norton Identity Safe Password Generator to create highly secure passwords that are difficult to crack or guess. Just select the criteria for the passwords you need, and click "Generate Password(s)". Remember, the more options you choose, the more secure the passwords will be.

Do you use any of these bad passwords?

• Password
• pass
• 123456
• qwerty
• Your kid's name
• Always the same one

Why is that not good?

• They are easy to guess or crack. Really easy.
• If one site is compromised, a hacker has access to all your services.

What's the solution?

1. Store your passwords and more in Identity Safe.
2. Save Time. Access from anywhere. More secure passwords.