Your password is a key to all your accounts on the internet. All accounts on the internet need a username and password for basic authentication. If your password falls into the wrong hands, someone can easily impersonate you while online, sign your name to online service agreements or contracts, engage in transactions, or change your account information. So choose your password carefully and keep it safe from others.
I have a few tips for you to choose a memorable but still strong password.
Don’t use a name or a word
First tip: don’t use your name, your dog’s name, your mother’s name, or any name. And don’t use a word from the English dictionary. It’s easy to guess with an attacker’s bot.
Don’t use English words
Yes, most people in the world know English, so don’t use English words for your password. Use other languages — maybe Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, or anything you like. Or don’t even use any words. Use random characters that are easy to remember.
Use at least 8 characters with a combination
Use more than 8 characters for your password with a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters or symbols (! @ # $ % ^ & *). Use special Unicode characters like ©, «, µ, §, ®. You can find more Unicode characters from Character Map on Windows.
Use account levels
Create account levels for each of your internet accounts. For example: Level 1 for primary email, financial accounts, or any confidential account. Level 2 for Web 2.0 accounts you trust, like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Level 3 for other untrusted websites like underground forums or untrusted sites.
For Level 1, use a very strict, long, and unique password for every account.
Level 2: use a strict and unique password for all accounts.
Level 3: you may use an easy-to-remember password and it doesn’t need to be unique.
How I create a strong and easy-to-remember password:
- Pick words from your language (other than English).
- For example I choose: kunciuntukfacebook (means: key for Facebook)
- I change some characters to special characters: Kunc1untukF@c3b00k
- Add symbols at the beginning and end: ®Kunc1untukF@c3b00k© (to use ®: ALT+0174, ©: ALT+0169). Note: practice 4-5 times before you change your new password. If you feel that you can type it without thinking about it, then change your password now. Remember the pattern, not the word!
Last but not least:
Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, & get a new one every six months.
Quote from Microsoft Hardware.