![]() |
MS-DEFCON 2:
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it.
|
-
Best method to create strong passwords
Home › Forums › AskWoody support › Connected home / Internet of things › Best method to create strong passwords
- This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago.
Viewing 4 reply threads-
AuthorPosts
-
-
December 27, 2019 at 8:14 am #2036930
dmt_3904
AskWoody PlusMerry Christmas and Happy holidays everyone!
Sorry if this is a duplicate post I was having problems & kept tapping the wrong key!
I’m not sure if this is the correct forum for but what is the best method for creating strong passwords? I’m confused by the advice out there. Got tips below from –https://www.howtogeek.com/195430/how-to-create-a-strong-password-and-remember-it/
According to the traditional advice—which is still good—a strong password:
- Has 12 Characters, Minimum: You need to choose a password that’s long enough. There’s no minimum password length everyone agrees on, but you should generally go for passwords that are a minimum of 12 to 14 characters in length. A longer password would be even better.
- Includes Numbers, Symbols, Capital Letters, and Lower-Case Letters: Use a mix of different types of characters to make the password harder to crack.
- Isn’t a Dictionary Word or Combination of Dictionary Words: Stay away from obvious dictionary words and combinations of dictionary words. Any word on its own is bad. Any combination of a few words, especially if they’re obvious, is also bad. For example, “house” is a terrible password. “Red house” is also very bad.
- Doesn’t Rely on Obvious Substitutions: Don’t use common substitutions, either — for example, “H0use” isn’t strong just because you’ve replaced an o with a 0. That’s just obvious.
The diceware method is dictionary words. Is the strength in using six or seven random words? Randomness. And if you throw in some numbers and symbols that makes it more strong? What about a passphrase ? Or using the first letter of each word in a sentence with numbers and symbols thrown in? Is 14 characters minimum length really OK ? Number of characters.
I am going to get strongbox password manager which can generate passwords. But I don’t want to change my passwords unless they have to be changed and I am not 100% sure how to evaluate strength.
-
December 27, 2019 at 9:41 am #2036953
RetiredGeek
AskWoody MVPDMT,
IMHO the best method is to use a password manager that generates random passwords for you and remembers them.
The above is from my favorite RoboForm (free for personal use).
HTH 😎
Attachments:
You must be logged in to access attached files.
-
December 27, 2019 at 1:57 pm #2037014
access-mdb
AskWoody MVPGoogle for most used passwords and make sure you don’t use any of them! RG’s password above doesn’t appear in the 10,000 most used passwords (unsurprisingly).
The other thing is that you should never use the same password on more than the one site.
Personally I don’t think changing passwords helps at all, unless you’ve been told that the site in question has been hacked, but the breach is now fixed.
And of course, the mathematicians will tell you that most random passwords aren’t random but pseudo random, but this is me being pedantic.
And if you use password reset and they send you the unencrypted password, they haven’t encrypted it – so I would suggest it’s not a website you would want to use. This happened to me once (actually they confirmed the password in an email when I registered). I told them this was a big security risk, but they just said that they were a new site and hadn’t set these things up. I didn’t use them again.
-
December 29, 2019 at 6:36 am #2037382
dmt_3904
AskWoody PlusThe other thing is that you should never use the same password on more than the one site. Personally I don’t think changing passwords helps at all, unless you’ve been told that the site in question has been hacked, but the breach is now fixed.
Totally agree on this and this what I do. Thanks for your advice.
-
This reply was modified 1 year ago by
dmt_3904.
-
This reply was modified 1 year ago by
-
-
December 28, 2019 at 6:10 pm #2037266
wavy
AskWoody PlusThis site has a few options:
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm it generates random passwords64 random hexadecimal characters (0-9 and A-F): BB87380052999048CE084303C3B6ABDBC49F7CD0581037FBB6F24808E9EE7600 63 random printable ASCII characters: cmd{Nqx-tI*K8Nzsimnpw](ir"Tj:r>E@SJI[d378ZB"-rs39~mgI!6RJQuS7K2 63 random alpha-numeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9): rl5UpDViD0ZkXfIFCuAn0VTLunYE0JAnrPbyO0zSzyRPcVAjKzyh7tAnK49BqAx
You likely would want a password manager for ones like that, even a 20 character chunk would be better than what most would use.
🍻
Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.1 user thanked author for this post.
-
December 30, 2019 at 8:20 am #2037763
Paul T
AskWoody MVPI am not 100% sure how to evaluate strength
Open your password manager and paste the password into the password field of a test entry. You will see a password strength report – on any decent password manager.
cheers, Paul
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
January 5, 2020 at 6:16 am #2040687
dmt_3904
AskWoody PlusI used my password manager password generator. It creates a random pw – upper, lower case, numbers, symbols – default 24 characters long. I did a little more research and read that over 20 random characters very secure for brute-force attack. Some password rules do not allow eight or more characters and restrict characters that may be used. But can’t help that. The password generator can also give diceware passwords. So I think I’m good, for now ; )
thanks to all for your help
-
-
-
AuthorPosts
Viewing 4 reply threads -
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments. Click here for details and to sign up.
Search The Lounge
Recent Replies
desertdad on Windows 10 Latest Patch: KB 4598242
40 minutes agocyberSAR on Hasta la vista, TeamViewer Free
1 hour, 1 minute agoanonymous on Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
1 hour, 4 minutes agoBob99 on KB4023057 while on Win10-2004
1 hour, 54 minutes agoBob99 on Seriously, MBAM?
2 hours, 14 minutes agoBob99 on Seriously, MBAM?
2 hours, 17 minutes agoBob99 on Susan recommending version 2004
2 hours, 23 minutes agoOscarCP on Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
2 hours, 28 minutes agoSusan Bradley on This should be the best patching experience
2 hours, 49 minutes agoanonymous on This should be the best patching experience
2 hours, 50 minutes agoOscarCP on Giving you the choice
3 hours, 32 minutes agorick41 on Giving you the choice
3 hours, 33 minutes agocyberSAR on Seriously, MBAM?
3 hours, 42 minutes agoOscarCP on Giving you the choice
3 hours, 46 minutes agoSusan Bradley on Lost Post
3 hours, 51 minutes agoSusan Bradley on Giving you the choice
3 hours, 52 minutes agogsel on imovie problems in osx 10.6.8
3 hours, 55 minutes agorick41 on Giving you the choice
3 hours, 58 minutes agoanonymous on MS-DEFCON 2 – Get ready for January updates
4 hours, 12 minutes agoFrances McKenna on Time to adapt while acknowledging the past
4 hours, 13 minutes agoSusan Bradley on Giving you the choice
4 hours, 14 minutes agoCybertooth on Giving you the choice
4 hours, 27 minutes agoCADesertRat on MS Shared Experience warning
5 hours, 12 minutes agolikescats on Files don’t copy from Win7 HDD to Win10 computer
5 hours, 34 minutes agoBundaburra on Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
5 hours, 44 minutes agoSteveTree on This should be the best patching experience
5 hours, 57 minutes agomn-- on Files don’t copy from Win7 HDD to Win10 computer
5 hours, 57 minutes agoLicAC on Windows Defender – yes or no?
6 hours, 20 minutes agoBen Myers on SSD vs. SATA Drives
7 hours, 5 minutes agoKirsty on Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
8 hours, 55 minutes ago
Recent Topics
-
Slow file copy
18 minutes ago
-
Do we need Java?
26 minutes ago
-
Windows 10 version changes
1 hour, 40 minutes ago
-
Lost Post
3 hours, 52 minutes ago
-
Hasta la vista, TeamViewer Free
1 hour, 2 minutes ago
-
Files don’t copy from Win7 HDD to Win10 computer
5 hours, 35 minutes ago
-
Does the HP Spectre Notebook (2016 model) have a removable wireless LAN Card?
19 hours, 3 minutes ago
-
Windows 10 2004 and Intel Ethernet Problem Solving
7 hours, 8 minutes ago
-
KB4023057 while on Win10-2004
1 hour, 55 minutes ago
-
MS Shared Experience warning
5 hours, 13 minutes ago
-
Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
-
macOS Catalina running on iPad Pro 2020
9 hours, 7 minutes ago
-
How to check if someone else accessed your Google account
20 hours, 29 minutes ago
-
This should be the best patching experience
2 hours, 50 minutes ago
-
Windows 10 Insider build 19042.782 (20H2) released to Beta & Release Preview
1 day, 1 hour ago
-
Browser Settings Block Linux Mint Downloads
1 day, 1 hour ago
-
Windows 10 Insider Preview build 20296 released to DEV Channel
1 day, 9 hours ago
-
Google Analytics Notice
1 day, 9 hours ago
-
Beeper combines 15 chatting apps
1 day, 5 hours ago
-
File Explorer cannot see external 2Tb drive in full
1 day, 13 hours ago
-
Office 2010 updates.
12 hours, 46 minutes ago
-
What is ‘Meet Now’
1 day, 13 hours ago
-
Linux is now completely usable on the Mac mini M1
2 days, 8 hours ago
-
User Feed Synchronization – Disable/Delete Task?
1 day, 9 hours ago
-
AV Alert from JetAudio Plus
2 days, 11 hours ago
-
System Restore Stopped Working
1 day, 9 hours ago
-
Malwarebytes was targeted by SolarWinds hackers too
2 days, 21 hours ago
-
So I opened up an HP and where’s the hard drive?
21 hours, 9 minutes ago
-
Which version of MS Office should we buy and where can we get it?
2 days ago
-
Fiber optic not available; options please
2 days, 5 hours ago
Search for Topics
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Copyright © 2004 – 2021 AskWoody Tech LLC. All rights reserved.