Sometimes it feels like I have to create a new password for something every day. And the rules are getting more and more strict, right? You generally need a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols. And not only that your password needs to be a minimum length and try not to consist of an actual word.
I’m sure you don’t need me to convince you that a secure password is the way to go.
So how are you supposed to create ultra-secure passwords for everything and keep track them all (because you don’t use the same one for everything, do you?).
There are two tools which I use all the time:
1. Strong Password Generator
The Strong Password Generator is a web page you can use to create secure passwords which meet all the restrictions. For each password you can choose how many characters it contains and whether it includes:
- uppercase letters
- lowercase letters
- numbers
- symbols (e.g. ?, #, % etc)
And when you’re done with your selections just click the Generate Password button and it will generate a lovely complicated, secure password. Yay!
2. KeePass
But when you’ve got your completely unmemorable password, how on earth are you going to remember it? From what I’ve seen Mac computers come with a built in password thingy, so you’re well covered. But us PC users on our Windows computers need to think again. The bit of kit that I have been using for years and swear by is KeePass (yeah, it’s not the prettiest of websites but it’s a great piece of software).
KeePass is a lightweight program which you download and install on your computer. You can then save all your passwords into it and have them at your fingertips. I have to manage hundreds of passwords in my line of work and am happy to have them all available to me in a secure, simple to use way.
Now, I know that there are cloud-based solutions for storing your passwords. You may find that one of those suits you better, but personally I don’t want to trust my (and my clients’) passwords to the cloud. I’m a little old-fashioned that way.