“I needed a password that was eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” Nick Helm, English Comedian

“I changed all my passwords to incorrect. Whenever I forget, it tells me, Your password is incorrect.” Michael Scott, The Office

The problem with passwords is that after creating them for the multitudes of accounts we use everyday in the digital world, we inconveniently forget them when our computer or smartphone unexpectedly prompts us to enter them. “Why doesn’t the computer just remember the stupid password?”, we ask. Finally, when we get locked out of our account for repeatedly entering the wrong one, we throw up our hands and exclaim, “How can I ever remember all these damn passwords?”

Password Strategies

First of all, you are not going to remember all of your passwords, so write them down. You can create a password-protected document on your computer or enter the information in a small address book. List the account name, user name, password, secret questions and answers plus the date you created or updated the account. And, unlike Seinfeld’s George Constanza, who wouldn’t divulge his password to his fiancée, you may want to make a copy for someone you trust in the event you lose or misplace this list. You could also place a copy in your bank’s safe deposit box.

When you answer the account’s secret questions (name of your first pet, childhood friend, first grade teacher, favorite movie, etc.) make sure that this information is not available through any biographical or social media. To add another level of security, spell your answers in reverse. Sonoma becomes Amonos or Citizen Kane becomes Enak Nezitic. You can have the strongest password in the world, but if someone knows your pet’s name or the city where your parents met, then your account can be reset and compromised.

Don’t give out passwords or personal information to anyone over the phone, online or through social media. Cyber criminals are getting more advanced in their tactics (fake banner ads, adware, malware, ransomware, shareware, etc.) to encourage unsuspecting consumers to divulge their personal information, so don’t call or contact them to help you with any of your secure information. 

Password Creation 

Here’s a few ideas to help you create secure passwords.

•Use at least 8 characters, including an uppercase and lowercase letter plus a number and/or special character

•Avoid using common words or names that are found in the dictionary

•Don’t use the same password for all your accounts

•Create a unique user name and password for your online banking account

•If the account supports it, use two-step verification, which sends a confirmation text message to your mobile phone for secure password creation and authentication.

•Test the strength of your password at www.passwordmeter.com

Password Statistics

These are the Top 50 most used passwords. The word password used to be the most widely used password in the world. It was recently surpassed by the equally insecure 123456. 

25-33% of all help desk requests and tech support calls are the result of forgotten passwords or locked accounts.

In the United States last year, over 40 million consumers were victims of information theft at a cost of over $160 billion.

A recent survey conducted in the U.S. and U.K. by mobile identity company TeleSign, found that 40 percent of those surveyed say they had an account hacked, password stolen, or were given notice that their personal information had been compromised. The survey also discovered that 75% of all consumers use duplicate passwords, many of which have not been changed in five years or more.

Conclusion

With all this really helpful research and newfound password strategy under my belt, I logged in to the password reset page on one of my social media accounts and entered MyPen!5 for my new password.  It was rejected with the following error message, “Password error, not long enough.”