Passwords 12 Characters Long but Easy to Remember
What makes a good password?
The best passwords are:
- At least 8 characters long;
- Random and difficult to guess;
- Only used once and not re-used across different websites.
Your best password is also one that is easy to remember. That might seem tricky if it has to be long and random, but in actual fact the strongest of passwords can be very easy to remember. That's what all the ideas further down this page are about!
Even better though, why not eliminate the hassle of passwords entirely and use a password manager instead? These tools will create and remember all your passwords for you - easy! They'll even log you into websites automatically.
For further details on these amazing tools see our guide to the best password managers today, or click below to visit these popular ones:
The Top 3 Password Managers
What is an example of a weak password?
Weak passwords are any which are short (less than 8 characters), are a word found in a dictionary (whether English or foreign), or are based on a word or number pattern. Names and dates are also easy to guess, whilst anything closely associated to yourself are another bad choice (for example your children's names - even joined together - or your car numberplate).
Any password that is widely used by others should also be avoided since hackers will regularly try these. We (and hackers!) know what the most popular passwords are as a result of data leaks from previous website hacks, with some of the most commonly used passwords being:
111111 123123 12345678 abc123 dragon football iloveyou jesus letmein password1 qwerty trustno1
Keyboard patterns feature heavily amongst these, along with names, popular hobbies such as football, and "witty" passwords such as trustno1. You can test how unique your password really is on the fantastic website HaveIBeenPwned? - you might be surprised!
One popular "trick" that many of us have tried before is to take a regular word and substitute the letters for numbers and/or symbols, such as [email protected]. Unfortunately however this is almost as bad as just the word football itself - hackers know these tricks and will try them all (they're able to try thousands of combinations a second!). Adding a number to the end of a word or an exclamation mark are also equally ineffective.
And just to make it harder (because it's not hard enough already?!), remember that you should use a different password for every website and account you use. This is because if one website you use gets hacked, then the attackers will have your login details to try elsewhere. Making passwords unique helps to avoid this.
If you're interested in what makes a password weak or strong, and how hackers beat them, then take a look at our "How do hackers guess passwords?" page.
Given all of this it might sound like it's impossible to think of a strong yet memorable password! Well fear not - it's not as tricky as it might seem. Read on for ideas of how to make a password that is both strong AND easy to remember...
Top 12 Strong Password Ideas
Make life difficult for hackers by trying these strong yet easy-to-remember password ideas:
1. Choose 4 random words
One of the simplest yet strongest password choices is to just throw 3 or 4 random words together. As long as it's at least 12 characters in length and the words don't have a natural flow to them (as say "MyNameIsDavid" would), then this should make for a very strong password.
Some examples of good passwords to use - and how they can be remembered - include:
- Seattle is the birthplace of Amazon, Starbucks, and Boeing
- Eg remember: "I live in Leeds, and walk past a cafe on the way to work"
- Note the "ABCD" order which could aid memory
- Eg remember that Stockbrokers wear posh suits, deal in shares, and own Porsches
SeattleBooksCoffeePlanes
LeedsWalkCafeWork
AileronBeerCatDonkey
BrokersSuitsSharesPorsche
2. Use an entire phrase
If you'd struggle to remember a random sequence of words then how about a phrase instead? Since the words in a phrase flow together then it needs to be quite long but phrases, as long as they're not an obvious or common one, can make extremely good passwords.
You don't even need to use numbers or symbols either - the single best way to make a password strong is simply to make it longer, which a phrase naturally is. How about these password examples:
I catch the no. 47 bus 2 work
Myboysareinthelocalfootballteam!
Pizzas taste nicer with pepperoni
TheGriffinismylocalpub
MiddleLaneRoadHoggersAreIdiots
You can choose whether or not to include spaces between the words, as long as the website accepts them.
Remember:
You should never re-use the same password across different websites; if hackers break into one website they'll have your password for them all.
Create one password, then learn how to make it unique between websites.
3. Create an acronym
Instead of typing out a full phrase why not turn it into an acronym?
For example if you choose the phrase "My daughter was born at Sheffield hospital in 1984", then by taking the first letter of each word ("[email protected]") you'll end up with a password that's both strong and easy to remember password. Here's some other ideas:
- From:I own a VolksWagen, with a 52 plate
- From:Passwords! They don't have to be difficult to remember
- From:Manchester is 40 miles west of Leeds over the Pennines.
- From:05 was the year I bought my first house!
IoaVW,wa52p
P!Tdh2bd2r
Mi40mwoL^tP
05wtyIbmfh!
These may take a little getting used to typing out, but after a while you'll probably remember the password itself without even needing to recall the phrase it's based on.
One important point - make sure it's at least 8 characters long & not based on a common expression. Whilst Shakespeare himself may approve of "Tb,on2b,titq:", it's one that hackers will try because of how popular the phrase is.
4. Use the keyboard
Using patterns of letters from the keyboard, such as asdfghjkl or qwerty, is a bad idea as these are very common & easily guessed by hackers. But there are still ways of using the keyboard to good effect.
Start by remembering something simple such as your children's names - eg "JaneCharlie" (make sure it's at least 8 characters). Your password could then use the keys that lie above and to the right of the letters of your password:
- From: "JaneCharlie"
Iwj4Fuw5p94
It might be tricky to type at first, but it will quickly become second nature.
You could even create your own rule for picking which keyboard keys to use, such as using letters to the left or right of your chosen words.
Be aware when travelling abroad however - some foreign keyboards move certain keys around, especially currency symbols and the @ key.
5. Use a deliberate misspelling
Intentionally misspelling words can also create secure passwords if you're careful about it. Try typing words as they sound, such as:
KryingTeers2Nite
DubbleTrubbleBubble
ILykeCheezBurgurs
You'll have to be very careful if using this method since the password lists that hackers use include common mispellings (such as 'acommodate'), so the more obscure you can make it, the better.
One common mistake to avoid is to use something basic and then substitute similar looking letters (eg an "0" for an "o", or a "1" for "i"). The resulting password might look secure - and even meet common password rules - but in reality they're not secure at all.
These for example are not secure passwords:
- [email protected]!
- [email protected]$$w0rd1
- L3tM31n
Criminals know about the most common letter substitutions and in some instances can test billions of password variations each second.
6. Create a formula
If you've got a mathematical mind then basing a password on a formula or other logical statement could perhaps be an option.
It's not for everyone, but passwords of this form can be very strong as they're often fairly long and use mathematical symbols which are rarely seen in passwords.
Some examples of these include:
- Eg use the difference between your parents' birth years
Dog+Cat=8legs
Children+Xmas=Excitement
2Weeks=14Days
1947-1943=Four
OneCarHas4Wheels
Two+2=4-Zero
The ideas so far have been for creating new passwords. But do you have a favourite password you already find easy to remember, but which might not be very strong? The following may give you ideas for how to make any existing password much stronger than it already is.
7. Add spaces or brackets
Did you realise that spaces and brackets are often (although not always) a valid character in passwords? They're rarely used by people - which makes them a great way of strengthening passwords.
How about taking your current password and splitting it up into chunks of letters with a couple of spaces in there? If your password was "Bristol98" you could make it "Bri sto l98" by adding a space every 3rd character.
You can also use brackets, so a password of "SeattleHuskys" could become "SeattleH(us)kys". Try other types of brackets too, such as {} or []. And if you're feeling really wild, maybe mix them up - use {] or (}.
Adding spaces or brackets will make your password longer, add a new character set, and possibly break up any dictionary words at the same time. Win-win-win!
- Was:Bristol98
- Now:Bri sto l98
- Was:SeattleHuskys
- Now:SeattleH(us)kys
8. Add a random word
Another way of lengthening your password is simply to add another word; the more unusual the better. And if you deliberately misspell the word, even better still.
Say your existing password is based on your wife and her year of birth, "Sarah1974". Why not add something else that's memorable, such as your hometown, but which is deliberately misspelt - eg "Sarah1974Bristul"
- Was:Sarah1974
- Now:Sarah1974Bristul
9. Repetition
If your password is too short or easy to crack then one of the easiest ways to strengthen it is to simply repeat it. Using our previous example of "Sarah1974", we could instead have the password "Sarah1974Sarah1974".
- Was:Sarah1974
- Now:Sarah1974Sarah1974
10. Turn it into an email address
A fairly unusual password format is that of an email address. Since this is a password (and not your contact details) then it doesn't need to be a valid email address - your imagination is the only limit!
If your current password is "Apples" for the website Amazon, then why not use "[email protected]" as your password? This way your password is memorable, it's longer, has unusual characters (an @ and a .), and can be made unique for each website.
- Was:Apples
- Now:[email protected]
11. Swap the letters around
If your existing password is made of 2 or more words already, could you just swap the first letters of each word around?
In this case, "SeattleHuskys" would become "HeattleSuskys". Be careful though that you're not accidentally going from 2 common words to 2 other common words, like "LongSocks" to "SongLocks".
- Was:SeattleHuskys
- Now:HeattleSuskys
12. Add other punctuation
We've mentioned adding spaces or brackets into your password but there's plenty of other punctuation you could use too. Not all websites allow all characters but you can play around to find what they do allow. Try these ideas:
- Was:Sarah1974
- Now:Sarah£19.74
- Was:SeattleHuskys
- Now:Seattle/Huskys/
- Was:Bristol98
- Now:Bristol+9+8
When you use symbols you should avoid the common trick of substituting letters for visually similar numbers or symbols, such as an @ for an a, or the number 1 for the letter l (such as [email protected]). Hackers are very familiar with these tricks and will try them all.
Instead, use less common punctuation symbols and add them into the password to break it up, rather than relying on simple substitutions.
How strong is your password?
When you create a new online account some websites will try to rate the strength of your password with a visual "strength meter".
These can't always be relied on to give accurate results though - they rarely check how predictable a password is, only it's length & the character types used. [email protected] is obviously poor yet many tools still rate it as "Excellent"; likewise for [email protected].
One superb way of checking your password strength is to use the website Have I Been Pwned?. This is a great tool, created and run by the security researcher Troy Hunt, that compares your password with hundreds of millions of others gathered from various data breaches to see how unique it is. You might be surprised at how common your "unique" idea of a password is!
But as long as your password is...
- At least 8 characters long (preferably more)
- Truly random - not composed of keyboard patterns or fewer than 3 recognisable words
- And has a good mix of character types (upper case, lower case, numbers, and punctuation)
...then it should be pretty good.
If you're interested in why this matters then take a look at his page to see how hackers crack passwords.
Once you have a secure password, you should try to make it unique on each website. You don't have to remember lots of different passwords though - see our tips on the next page for ideas to make your password unique.
Source: https://www.becybersafe.com/passwords/password-ideas.html
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