Many of us use cheap tricks to create supposedly secure passwords that meet appropriate difficulty requirements. Secure passwords usually meet three or more of the following requirements:
1. Eight or more characters in length.
2. Uppercase letters: (A, B, C…Z).
3. Lowercase letters: (a, b, c…z).
4. Numbers: (0, 1, 2, 3…9).
5. Symbols: all other characters not defined as letters or numbers (! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + | ~ - = \ ` { } [ ] : " ; ' < > ? , . /).
So let’s take a common example. Say we have a password in mind, securitypassword. Luckily that is already more than eight characters long, so we are good to go on the first requirement.
Next, we need some uppercase letters. So we change our password to SecurityPassword. Two uppercase letters and the rest lowercase. Requirements 2 and 3 met!
Then we need some numbers. Easy, we just change the “o” in password to a 0 (zero), and the “i” in security to a 1 (one). So now we have Secur1tyPassw0rd. Requirement four down!
Finally, let’s throw in some symbols. The old standbys are changing an “a” to the @ symbol and an “s” to the $ symbol. Now we have $ecur1tyP@ssw0rd. Requirement five met, and we have a super-secure password, right?
No. If you are so clever as to come up with something like this, you can bet the hackers have too. And guess what, they automated it! And it took them less time to write a program to automate it than it took you to read this post so far. So your “secure password” is nothing that a dictionary attack can’t break in a few minutes.
You’re probably saying, “But I only use something that I would know!” Right. Do you know how quickly a hacker can figure out something about you? Like say your dog’s name, your kid’s name, your address, etc.? Not long with Google. And that’s if easier methods of hacking your computer fail.
So be smart and choose good passwords, don’t share them, and don’t write them down on sticky notes that you “cleverly” hide around your desk. I can’t count how many times I could have logged on to another person’s computer by looking for little pieces of paper in a desk drawer, under the keyboard, under the mouse pad, and even on the freakin’ monitor for Pete’s sake!