What Makes a Password Strong?

Passwords are one of the weakest links in security. They are hard to remember, often have crazy complexity requirements attached to them and to top it off, there’s millions of passwords available online, that people are using every day, to log into their bank accounts and social media. Bare with me as I share 3 tips for what makes a password strong.

What makes a password strong?

1. The number one factor to password strength is…length. Longer is stronger

   • “Missing the summer of 1991!” is much better than “Summer2019!!”

2. Not using easily guessable information

   • Don’t use info you post online such as
     • Street you live(d) on
     • Birthday/Birthdate
     • Pets names
   • Don’t use weak passwords such as
     • Password (or it’s variations)
     • Letmein123
     • Summer2019

3. Don’t use the same passwords for every site

   • Ok, if you want to use a generic password for non-sensitive or non-critical sites or services, go for it. But you definitely do not want to use the same password for your Facebook account as you do your Bank and definitely not the same as your Utica First password

   • One of the methods attackers breach the fences is from password reuse. What that means is, attackers breach a company and steal their password databases or passwords get leaked online…then those hackers try those passwords against your account on other services. For example…Disney+ was in the news when they first launched because people were getting their accounts hacked. Not necessarily out of any wrong doing by Disney, but because hackers are trying millions of common/breached passwords that are readily available on the internet.

Bonus Tip

For personal use, I highly recommend using a Password Manager. It will make your life A LOT easier. Sure now your passwords are all in one place, but if you protect it well enough with multifactor authentication, the risk is very much so worth the reward.