- Creating a secure password is not as easy as it may sound.
- Many people fall into the same traps that hackers can exploit.
- There are several ways to increase your security.
Creating a secure password is not as easy as you might think.
When the little bar showing your password progress turns green, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve created a strong barrier. Sometimes we can make ourselves vulnerable without even realising it.
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Here are some common mistakes when creating passwords and how to avoid them.
Table of Contents
The Basics for Creating a Secure Password
You’ve probably already heard the basics of creating a secure password, but it can’t hurt to refresh your knowledge.
The password length – it should be long
If you are creating a password for a less sensitive account, such as a Reddit profile, your password should be at least ten characters long. It should contain different symbols and be difficult for someone else to guess, but relatively easy for you to remember.
However, if you are creating a password for an account with highly sensitive information, such as a bank account, you should aim for more characters. Passwords of 16 characters should be standard for these sensitive accounts. It sounds like a lot, but it’s worth it if you want to avoid having your life completely derailed by a security breach.
Take a look at this table, which shows how long it takes to crack a password, depending on the number of characters:

It should be varied
Of course, you should make sure that you use a variety of characters when creating a password. Use several symbols. Use numbers. Use upper and lower case letters. The more different characters you use, the more difficult it is to crack your password.
Common Mistakes When Creating Passwords
Using Personal Information
All too often, security is compromised in favour of usability. They use personal information when creating their codes, but personal information is easy for others to find.
Use of the same password
Let’s say you’ve created a long, varied password. All too often, people use this strong password to protect multiple accounts.The obvious problem with this is that if someone hacks one of your accounts, they will also have access to the others.Always use separate passwords for separate accounts.
Use predictable patterns
You can have a long or even varied password, but it doesn’t matter if it’s predictable. For example, ‘abc123efg456hij!’ is fairly predictable and much easier to crack than a random password. Most password generators can give you a strong, random password of the length you want, such as in Google Chrome or on Apple devices.
Watch a video here that explains password security well:
Further helpful steps for password security
If you want to increase the security of your account, it is advisable to use a 2-factor authenticator. This is usually a separate code that is sent to you by text message or generated via an app in addition to your password. Services such as Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook all offer an option for 2-factor authentication.
Once you start dealing with 16-digit passwords, it can become difficult to memorise them. Many people are tempted to write them down on paper or in an email. In both cases, they are putting themselves at risk. Look for a trusted password manager, such as Keeper, 1Password or Google Password Manager. These services offer a secure place to store your passwords.
If you are worried about your passwords being accessible on the dark web, follow our guide here.

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