Guidelines for a secure password
To begin with, let's try to understand how a secure password should be composed, at least on paper.
Taking into account the fact that creating a keyword capable of guaranteeing a good level of security is practically essential in order to preserve one's data, especially as regards the use of this or that other online service, in the first place a good password must consist of at least eight alphanumeric characters and must contain Special characters, such as @ # $% ^ &.
In trying to create a secure password it is also good practice don't use common words, such as “password”, your birthday, your username or words that can be read in the dictionary. Plus, they always go alternate upper and lower case. I bet your previous passwords didn't follow any of these rules, did they?
Ah, I almost forgot, another thing that is essential for you to take into account is the fact that, always in the face of a greater degree of safety, you must use a different password for each website you decide to subscribe to. In this way, if someone were to be able to find the password of one of the services to which you are registered, they will not be able in any way to access the other sites you generally use. All clear?
Create a secure password
Let us now pass from theory to practice. Creating a perfect password (in terms of security) and possibly also easy to remember is possible thanks to a small trick. Now I'll explain everything!
First, think of something important to you: an event, a place, a name. The thought thing must be long at least 8 characters. To give you a practical example and to simplify the concept as much as possible, I'll use my name: configurehow (yes, space needs to be considered as well).
Now, make the following substitutions to the characters of the term you have in mind: replace the "a" with "@", the "s" with "$", the spaces with "%", the "o" with "0", the "i" with "!" and the "and" with "€". Do not substitute capital letters. In this way, “configurehow” becomes “$ @ lv @ t0re% Ar @ nzull @”. A password, very difficult to find, don't you think?
But it's not over yet! To your newly created password, add at the end the name of the Internet site where you use it to always have a different keyword. For example, when you sign up on Facebook you could add “F @ c € b00k” to the end of your password and have a password like “$ @ lv @ t0r €% Ar @ nzull @% F @ c € b00k”. Et voila!
If instead of using the trick above you prefer to rely on special tools used, in fact, for the automatic creation of a password, or rather a table with the characters to be used to build safe keywords for you, I suggest you try the service offered by the website Password Chart that, in a nutshell, does the "dirty work" for you.
Then connect to the home page of the site, type a sentence or random letters in the text field that you find under the heading Enter a phrase to create the password chart: and check the boxes next to the items Include numbers? e Does it include punctuation? to generate the form, the one you will see appear on the right, which will allow you to create your passwords including, respectively, numbers and punctuation.
To save the card in the form of an image so that you can always carry it with you in digital format or perhaps in order to print it and keep it on paper, capture the portion of the screen with the card, in fact, following the instructions I have provided in my tutorial on how to make screen. Then save the image obtained on the device in use, in the position and format you deem most appropriate.
If you want to have the Password Chart website generate a secure password directly for you, fill in the field below the wording Enter a password to convert using the chart: with the word or phrase you want to use for your password. Once this is done, you will see the password processed by the site appear further down, taking into account the previously generated graph. Convenient, right?
Test passwords
Have you followed the instructions above to make a secure password but now you would like to understand if the keyword you generated is really such? To find out, you absolutely must not ask the hacker on duty for an opinion! You can do everything using some special online services, as in the case of The Password Meter.
You ask me how to use it? I'll explain it to you right away! To begin with, connected to the home page of the service, then type your password in the text field next to the wording Password:, up. At the field Score: you will then be shown the password security level expressed as a percentage, while corresponding to the field Complexity: you will find a comment on the degree of complexity.
And if you are interested in understanding on the basis of which criteria the site has deemed your password safe, you can take a look at the further details below relating to the complex number of characters used, symbols, numbers, etc.
As an alternative to the website I just told you about or in any case if you are looking for a further comparison, you can rely on the tool to test the security of passwords made available by Kaspersky, the well-known software house engaged for years in the development of antivirus solutions (and not only) for all major operating systems.
To use it, connect to the relevant web page and then enter your password in the field Test your password that you find in the center of the screen. Once this is done, you will see the verdict appear at the bottom of the page. In this case, you will not be given a detailed response regarding the password you typed but you will simply be told if your password can be easily cracked or not, why and in how much time.
Another site similar to the above that you can appeal to is How secure is my password?, sponsored by Dashlane, a famous password manager. It works in a more or less similar way to the services already visited but provides some less info in the response.
To use it, connect to its home page and then type the password you want to test in the field Enter Password on screen and ... wait for the verdict that you will see appear below. You will be shown the presumed time taken by a hacker to find your keyword, the degree of length as well as, if necessary, indications to further increase its security.
Safeguard passwords
At the beginning of the guide, I anticipated that as well as explaining how to make a secure password, I would have illustrated some valid systems to store all your passwords in a practical but at the same time "crafty" way.
Assuming that there is no safer place in one's mind to store all the various passwords but that memory can often play tricks, especially when it comes back to having to remember a bunch of different keywords, to simplify the things without letting your guard down, you can turn to special programs and / or apps to memorize all the passwords and keep them in turn through a single master password, an password manager In short. In this way, you will only have to remember one keyword, the one you will have to type to unlock the manager. In short, a nice convenience!
I also remind you that resources of this type then allow you to automatically fill in the login forms of all online services, social networks and Internet sites without jeopardizing the security and privacy of the user. They are usually compatible with all major operating systems and integrate seamlessly with all popular browsers.
So you ask me what are these tools used for the purpose in question? Well, take a look at the list that you find below through which, in fact, I have proceeded to indicate all those that in my opinion represent the most reliable and useful tools in the category. In their basic form they are all free but offer (optional) paid functions.
- 1Password - According to most, it is one of the most complete and reliable programs to manage and keep passwords available on the market. It has a very easy to use user interface and allows you to keep all passwords for accessing Internet sites, online services and Web applications securely. In order not to miss anything, it also allows you to generate complex passwords. It is available for all major operating systems, fixed and mobile, but is paid (with plans starting at $ 3,99 / month, after a 14-day trial).
- Bitwarden - is a very famous free and open source password manager, available for the main desktop and mobile platforms, through which you can manage your account credentials in a simple and intuitive way. Some features are reserved for users who have subscribed, which starts at $ 3 per month.
- Dashlane - It's the password manager I told you a few lines above, when I explained how to test the security of the chosen keyword. As in the case of the other resources I have already described to you, it allows, through the use of a single password, to store many others, even complicated ones. In the basic free form it is a bit lacking in options (for example it does not offer a synchronization system) but for a start it can be just fine. It can be used on all major operating systems (fixed and mobile) and web browsers.
If you think you need further information on this, you can refer to my article on password programs and my tutorial on how to keep passwords through which I have just proceeded to talk to you about the operation of the above resources in greater detail.
How to make a secure password