Celebrate World Password Day by Making Yours Stronger

Protect the keys to your digital life

We use the internet for everything today, and passwords are like the keys to your online house. They allow you to access your accounts, such as email, banking, social media, shopping and more. But unlike physical keys, passwords can be guessed, stolen, or hacked by cybercriminals who want to steal your money, personal data and identity.

In 2020, Verizon reported that 80% of hacking incidents were caused by reused and stolen login information. That means many cyberattacks could have been prevented if the victims had just used stronger passwords and stored them securely.

Create strong passwords — it’s easy!

How are house keys cut? Uniquely. Likewise, just a few tweaks can turn a weak password into a strong one. Your password should be at least 12 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. It should also be unique and not used for any other account.

Here are a few examples of turning weak passwords into strong passwords:

Weak: password123
Strong: P@ssw0rd!23

Weak: ilovecats
Strong: IL0v3C@t$!

Weak: johnsmith
Strong: J0hn$M1th!

(NOTE: These are examples only, please do NOT use these for your own. You should never include your first and last name in your password, nor any variation of the word “password.”)

You can also create a personal passphrase instead of a password. A passphrase is a sentence or a phrase that’s easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. Then you just convert that into an acronym with special characters and/or numbers, as shown in these examples:

Passphrase: I like to eat pizza on Fridays.
Password: ILtEPoF!

Passphrase: My favorite movie is Star Wars.
Password: MFMi5W!

Passphrase: The sky is blue and the grass is green.
Password: TSiB&GiG!

(NOTE: These are for example only, please do NOT use any of these as your passphrase.)

Manage your passwords

It can be hard to remember all your passwords, especially if you have many accounts and use different passwords for each. But you can forget almost all of them if you use a password manager. It’s a tool that securely stores and fills in your passwords for you. It can also help you generate strong passwords for each account.

There are many password managers available online, such as LastPass, Dashlane, 1Password and more. Just choose the one that best serves your needs and preferences. Some are free and others charge a fee. Some work on different devices and browsers, and others have extra features like encryption or backup.

The only password you’ll need to remember when using a password manager is the master password. This is the password that unlocks your password manager and gives you access to all your other passwords. So make sure your master password is very strong and never share it with anyone.

Also do these things to protect your password

Besides creating and managing strong passwords there are more steps you can take to make them more secure:

• Change them regularly. This can help prevent hackers from using old or compromised passwords to access your accounts. You can put a reminder on your calendar or have your password manager notify you when it’s time to change them. Guidelines from the National Institute of Standards and Technology recommend changing your password at least once per year or if you think your password has been compromised.
• Don’t reuse them. If you use the same password for multiple accounts, you are putting all of them at risk. If one account gets hacked, the hacker can use the same password to break into your other accounts. Use a different password for each account and use your password manager to keep track of them.
• Don’t share them. Never tell anyone your passwords, not even your family or friends. You never know who might misuse them or accidentally expose them to others. If you need to share access to an account with someone else, use a feature like guest or family accounts so you can grant permissions without revealing your password.
• Don’t write them down. Writing your passwords on a piece of paper or a sticky note can make them easy to lose or steal. If you need to write down your passwords, store them in a safe place like a locked drawer or a safe deposit box. Or even better — use a password manager instead.
• Use two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is an extra layer of security that requires you to enter another piece of information in addition to your password when logging in to your account. This can be a code sent to your phone or email, a fingerprint scan or a physical device like a USB key. This makes it harder for hackers to access your account even if they already have your password.

Remember, your passwords are your first line of defense against cyberattacks. So take a little time this World Password Day to make sure yours are doing a good job of protecting your online accounts and personal information.