How to create a safe password

Discussion in 'Security' started by lalasd, Mar 21, 2010.

  1. #1
    Create Safe Passwords

    A strong and memorable password will keep your information safe and secure online.

    Keys to password strength: length and complexity

    An ideal password is decently long and should include letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.

    Whenever possible, use at least 8 characters or more.
    The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.
    Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.


    Create a strong password you can remember

    Simply follow these steps.

    1) Pick a word you can remember easily which is about 8 characters long.

    I pick … fathive

    [​IMG]

    2) Replace number looking letters with an number.

    So change fathive to … fath1v3

    3) Now replace letters with symbols. Use symbols which look like the letter to make the password easier to remember.

    Change fath1v3 to … f@th1v3

    4) Right now you have all lower case letters … but you should have at least one upper case letter.

    Simply capitalize the first letter … F@th1v3

    5) It is time to add symbols. To keep the password memorable always add a period at the end of your password, just like you would at the end of a sentence. Another option is to enclose your password with brackets.

    So the final password is … (F@th1v3)

    *Note that you can use other bracket types too.

    Test your password’s strength at passwordmeter.

    Also remember to change your password every 30 days … if you are paranoid or else every 6 months should be fine.

    Just random ... :cool:

    Original post was mad here http://blog.fathive.com/2010/create-safe-passwords/
     
    lalasd, Mar 21, 2010 IP
  2. dach

    dach Peon

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    #2
    Maybe it is better to use Linux commandline tools such as apg?
     
    dach, Mar 23, 2010 IP
  3. GNetCoder

    GNetCoder Peon

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    #3
    The 'memorable' part is the tricky thing when considering a password. Granted, my opinion may be a bit extreme (ok, a little paranoid), but, If you want to get down to the bottom line, any of those methods can be included in a hacker's toolset; i.e. a brute force could take a dictionary word and make common substitutions:

    numbers for similar letters
    letters for similar numbers
    similar punctuation characters for letters/numbers
    shifting letters up-left/up-right, etc

    In a perfect world, passwords would be 25 (or more) completely random characters. But, that is kinda hard to memorize. :confused:

    If you want something memorable, don't create a 'morphed' password, create a 'morphed' pass-*phrase*.

    One example that I use is to memorize 2 or three sentences from a favorite book (or for the really paranoid, memorize from a book your friends would never think you actually read), then morph it using one (preferably more) of the OP techniques (I like shifting, too). Randomize the spaces between the words.

    2 or 3 morphed sentences can easily be 40 characters or more, and easily remembered.
     
    GNetCoder, Mar 24, 2010 IP
  4. adsenselabs

    adsenselabs Peon

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    #4
    128bit code
    it very fast
     
    adsenselabs, Mar 26, 2010 IP
  5. stellak12

    stellak12 Greenhorn

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    #5
    This is a nice way to create strong passwords!! Thanks for sharing! I think I will choose a word which will "descriping" the site, this way I will remember it! :D
     
    stellak12, Mar 30, 2010 IP
  6. lalasd

    lalasd Peon

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    #6
    You do have a point ... but it is still much safer than the ones bellow ... lol

    [​IMG]

    Hehe i wonder how many people will change there password after seeing this.

    Sure if you are paranoid

    Thanks for liking it?
     
    lalasd, Mar 30, 2010 IP
  7. RHS-Chris

    RHS-Chris Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Here is a site that I have used for years to create numerous passwords:

    http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/

    The thing about passwords, if you use it often enough, you will eventually remember it.
     
    RHS-Chris, Mar 31, 2010 IP
  8. GNetCoder

    GNetCoder Peon

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    #8
    That is a nice site!

    Here is the one I always go to; The passwords are 64 characters long, I usually just c/p a section and trim it down.

    https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
     
    GNetCoder, Apr 1, 2010 IP
  9. Mable

    Mable Peon

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    #9
    There are many software you can use to keep your password safe, such as Password Safe Wizard Sof, and Shapiro Password Safe.
     
    Mable, Apr 6, 2010 IP
  10. lalasd

    lalasd Peon

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    #10
    i dont think you need a software to keep your password safe ...
     
    lalasd, Apr 25, 2010 IP
  11. GNetCoder

    GNetCoder Peon

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    #11
    I like KeePass; It is open source, free, multi-platform and works with my truecrypt-encrypted Portable-Apps partition ( see, I told you I was a bit paranoid ;) ); AND I can use the same db on my linux boxes.
     
    GNetCoder, Apr 26, 2010 IP
  12. VasserPro

    VasserPro Peon

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    #12
    Acronyms also work well, too. Think of a saying you like a lot and just use the first letters of each word (or the first two of each if it's a short saying).
     
    VasserPro, Apr 26, 2010 IP
  13. Ulquiorra

    Ulquiorra Peon

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    #13
    Your password will never be safe. The best you can do is use different passwords for every website and have them be completely and utterly unique, such as oiwoo901!Xo<4. Even then, there is not a 100% guarantee of security.
     
    Ulquiorra, Apr 26, 2010 IP
  14. nezZario

    nezZario Peon

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    #14
    Yes.. If you have any way, such with SSH, switch to pub/priv key authenticiation.
    For PayPal, they have keychains you can bring that change every few minutes that are required to login (very secure)

    Otherwise, I just use a random password generator with 8-12 chars .. Including symboles
     
    nezZario, Apr 27, 2010 IP
  15. christ88

    christ88 Guest

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    #15
    There are many password tools on the market for users. why not download one to use. It is easy and quick.
     
    christ88, Apr 28, 2010 IP
  16. lalasd

    lalasd Peon

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    #16
    true ... if some really wants your account they will get in. It just like your house ... you can get laser security and guards, but, if some one really wants to get in they will find a way.
     
    lalasd, May 1, 2010 IP
  17. ryan1918

    ryan1918 Active Member

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    #17
    Really a password isn't good if your system or software isn't secure, or if you get infected with a trojan/rat/bot/keylogger it don't matter if your password is a 1000 characters long you will still be had.

    I suggest using 16 or more characters make sure you include letters and numbers and one/two UP/LOWER case letters, and never use anything with your name, nickname or alike.

    My passwords are 18 numbers 6 letters and three up/lower cases = 24, Which means they would never be able to brute force it.
     
    ryan1918, May 5, 2010 IP
  18. mikeasro

    mikeasro Peon

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    #18
    Use a pattern on your keyboard, this way the password never leaves the keyboard because you can never know the password without seeing the keyboard.

    Use a pattern including numbers and symbols and then depending on what the password is for put letters on the end with the same number like for digital point:

    /.,l;'#dp9

    Dict crackers wont get this and it would take a Bf cracker a silly amount of time to crack.
     
    mikeasro, May 7, 2010 IP
  19. CyberHacK

    CyberHacK Peon

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    #19
    Or just use a password generator and keep the password stored somewhere safe ;)
     
    CyberHacK, May 9, 2010 IP
  20. fanofchopin

    fanofchopin Well-Known Member

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    #20
    My password is not long.
    I use 10-14 character, mixed in Uppercased and Lowercased, and number
    In my opinion, that's more than enough.
     
    fanofchopin, May 10, 2010 IP