What really makes a strong password?

About

Patrick Cassidy
Oct 19

What really makes a strong password?

Remembering and coming up with new passwords is not something anyone looks forward to. But as your first line of defence, this must be secure as hackers use a variety of approaches to guess your passwords and to break into your accounts. With these approaches constantly changing and growing in sophistication this has never been more important.

Follow one of these simple methods to help you remember and create a strong password.

The Sentence Method

The idea is to think of a random sentence and transform it into a password using a rule. For example, taking the first letter of every word in “I usually get about 10-15 emails each day” would be Iuga10-15eed.

To anyone else, it’s gibberish, but to you it makes perfect sense. Make sure the sentence you choose is as personal and as unguessable as possible.

The Electrum Method

Instead of a difficult to remember string of characters, you can make a lengthy phrase instead. The longer and more random the better. How can you create a 12 word seed of your own? It’s as simple as it sounds. Come up with 12 random words.

You can start with a phrase such as: Even in winter, the dogs party with brooms and Kit Kats – just make sure it is not a simple phrase or a phrase taking from popular movies or literature.

PAO Method

Person-Action-Object (PAO) gained popularity in Joshua Foer’s bestselling book Moonwalking with Einstein. The method suggests: Select an image of an interesting place (Giant’s Causeway ). Select a photo of a familiar or famous person (Beyonce). Imagine some random action along with a random object and you’ve got: Beyonce driving a computer chair at Giant’s Causeway

At least, that’s the theory put forward by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientists who suggest using the Person-Action-Object (PAO) method to create unbreakable passwords. Our brains remember better with visual, shared cues and with outlandish, unusual scenarios.

C3 Can Help

Our final words of wisdom; use 2 factor authentication, don’t recycle passwords and don’t write them down!

To get advice on IT security or to get 2FA set up, contact us below.

ionic-it.com/contact-us/

hello@ionic-it.com

028 7964 5865

Find out more about 2 factor authentication: read here

Don’t just take our word for it…

"Ionic has been key in boosting our IT resilience and business continuity. As our go-to IT partner, we really appreciate how the team at Ionic takes the time to get to know our business and listens to us. They make improvements that turn our IT into a real value driver and get it ready for future growth'”

Read full story

Gary McLorn
Head of Marketing and Pre-Sales TES Group

I would recommend Ionic to any business considering their services. The first reason, you know that everything is being covered, you know IT is one thing less you have to worry about, so it means we can get on with core business activities. The second, we know we are getting good expertise and value for money.

Read full story

Tony Convery
Sustainability & Business Improvement Director Clarke

"As an SME with no specialised, in-house IT support, we were keen to work with a company that matched our values and standards."

Read full story

Michael O’Neill
Managing Director Screen Clinical

"McCauley’s have used the services of Ionic IT for a number of years now, and the support has been second to none."

Read full story

Caitriona Gribben
Director McCauley Trailers

"The Glenavon has been in partnership with Ionic for over seven years, and during this time, we have built a strong relationship with the Ionic team and, as a result, a stronger business."

Read full story

Brian Morris
Director Glenavon House Hotel

"They effectively take the role of 3Y Group’s IT Department and professionally manage all our hardware, software and support issues."

Read full story

Murty Young
Director 3Y Group

"Ionic has made my role easier by giving me piece of mind that our IT systems and network are performing optimally"

Read full story

Gerald Kerlin
Operations Director IMAC Group

Read full story