How to select a secure password you can remember

I make sentences about things I care about or pertain to me and use the first letter or the numbers in it.

I Would Like To Lose 20 Lbs 2 Day Or B 4 I Die :-)

Works like a charm, I Wish To Own A BMW By The Year 2020

I Love Banana and Blueberry Pie With Cream

a reply to: nOraKat

Pick a line out of a song you like (passphrase). Quotes from books and movies you like are easy for you to remember too.

Somrbondwemeetagain9

Keep a notepad (real, paper version) and jot down the passwords in case you forget. Cyber hackers can't touch a notepad.

Password hacking isn't a big problem for most people; it's database hacking that affects us. It's a good idea to change passphrases every so often to be extra safe.

a reply to: nOraKat

I also use keepass, but if you're untrusting...

xkcd.com...

You're welcome

Don't do this.

originally posted by: Serdgiam
a reply to: nOraKat

Use software like KeePass (and I'm sure there are others).

Only have to remember one password, can use it on a USB stick, and you'll never forget a password again

Even better, create a bunch of folders to organize textfiles with login information for different websites. Add it to an encrypted rar or zip file and now you have a cross-platform password collection.

a reply to: Cutepants

Well, for one, I never use a touch screen, so for now I'm ok for that part. But sometimes when the kids ask what it is, I can't answer, and they need to bring me a keyboard because, they always have to ask when I'm in the shower, naturally.

a reply to: nOraKat

Haha, sorry then. But know a worthy password needs work. Like going to the gym or something similar!

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

I capitalize the 'p' in password so it's not that easy for the hackers.

LOL. I misspell password so no hacker gets it. Works ok but sometimes I can’t get into the sites.

a reply to: Kandinsky

I do something quite similar.............

I pick out a song I like, and take the first letter of each word in the first phrase of the song. Then, I intersperse an easily remembered number pattern between the letters.

For example, the song Creep by Radiohead -- When You Were Here Before, Couldn't Look You In The Eye mixed with, say, a Fibonacci sequence..... W 0 Y 1 W 1 H 2 B 3 C 5 L 8 Y 13 I 21 T 34 E 55 ........ or any part of it that suits me........ or prime numbers...... whatever comes to mind easily for you.

My Mom uses a folk song with her former zip code between the letters. Whatever works that you can remember.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: nOraKat

Pick a line out of a song you like (passphrase). Quotes from books and movies you like are easy for you to remember too.

Somrbondwemeetagain9

Keep a notepad (real, paper version) and jot down the passwords in case you forget. Cyber hackers can't touch a notepad.

Password hacking isn't a big problem for most people; it's database hacking that affects us. It's a good idea to change passphrases every so often to be extra safe.

Good idea but you get screwed up on some sites that want special characters, numbers or caps, it’s just crazy.

a reply to: nOraKat

The secret to making passwords is...

Don't tell it here.

a reply to: FocusedWolf

I dunno, KeePass is plenty cross-platform for my needs. I'd also miss a lot of the conveniences that it provides (IMO, it makes inputting UN/PW easier than the typical way).

Not sure if it supports Apple devices (never had a reason to look), but I use it on Windows, Linux, and Android and that covers all my bases. IIRC, it was even supporting BlackBerry the last I looked, as well as some pretty obscure platforms.

To be honest, I'm really a big fan of the software, though there are probably packages and methods out there that are competitive.

I completely agree though, being able to have a universal password system across all platforms someone uses is definitely a great thing. Especially if it can run, or be accessed from a USB drive. The functionality and convenience of the latter can't be overstated in my opinion.

a reply to: nOraKat

Think of your favorite food, put familiar numbers in the middle of that food.
Let's say Pizza is your favorite food, and 1983 was a good year.

Pi1983zza.

Best passwords ever, and somehow easy to remember!

a reply to: DerBeobachter

And how do you remember these arbitrary sentences months later?

a reply to: Serdgiam

S:"H#!TPfwagatD,ttswca21-17.Ifhi2020,#iIkwtsl! "

Oh, yeah I'm gonna remember that one..

I hear what your saying.. thanks for the suggestion tho

a reply to: lordcomac

So that cartoon is saying a bunch of common words is more secure than some cryptic password that is shorter, even though it contains numbers and various symbols?

a reply to: nOraKat

Well, yeah, you aren't going to necessarily remember the password itself. That's what the words are for Its a very common and effective trick that actually applies beyond this topic.

For certain types of software, you'd only have to remember the single password though, and you could even write it down in a safe, non-digital place (i.e. paper).

Pretty much all the common password systems (software and otherwise) have been described in the thread. But, if you don't think they are for you for whatever reason, you can certainly design your own system, or even software, that meets whatever requirements you have.

Who knows, maybe you'll create the standard to which all the others are compared.

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: DrumsRfun

Yeah, those of us that hail from the age of rotary phones...routinely held 40 or more 10 diget phone numbers in our head...hell I still remember mine from 8 years old

Makes ya wonder how good some tech really is.

They say that the average person can remember a sequence of numbers around up to 7 numbers long. But we can recall different sets of 7 numbers. That's key to some mnemonic tricks where you memorise a route that is familiar to you, but the elaborate things you notice as keys along the way differ.

To the guy who remembers passcodes by muscle memory.. don't get drunk man, that one time you blow it, you will NEVER get it back lmao..

Personally, I've still got the same password I've had since 1985 on dialup bbs's... lol few forced changes over the years, but no one wants to break into a hobo's den to steal is soggy rice cakes, so I've been safe.

a reply to: nOraKat

Pick a completely random word that's impossible to guess and add the initails of the site needing a password.

Never forget a password again.