How Can I Make a Stronger Password?

A strong password helps protect your accounts from unauthorized access. Use a long password that combines uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid common words, personal information, and easy-to-guess passwords. The longer and more unique your password is, the more secure it will be.

What Makes a Good Password?

A good password is easy to remember, but hard to guess.

Length

A longer password is harder to guess. Make your password as long as possible to help keep your information safe.

Complexity

Adding numbers, symbols, and mixed-case letters makes it harder for attackers or unauthorized users to guess or crack your password.

Writing down your password is a common security risk but might be necessary (especially for infrequently visited sites). If you do write down passwords, do not leave them in plain sight.

Memorability

Coming up with and remembering such a password can be difficult. One good method is to start with a phrase you will remember (preferably one unique to you) and modify it to make it as secure as possible:

Our wedding song was I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston.
The first letters of this phrase would be:
Owsw"IWALY"bWH
If you substitute a zero for the capital "O" and a numeral one for the capital "I", you get:
0wsw"1WALY"bWH

You now have numerals, special characters, and both uppercase and lowercase letters. You can add padding (say an exclamation mark at each end) and arrive at an even tougher password to crack.

Use a unique password for each account whenever possible. Avoid reusing passwords, especially for important accounts.