15 Ways to Create a Password You Can Remember
Combine Small Words
1. Make a compound word. A smart way to develop an easy-to-remember password is to combine three small words to make a single password. For example, you can use "howstopyes" or "earpengold". If you want an even easier to remember password, you can use words that are related to each other like "yesnomaybe". Be aware, however, that this is much less secure! It adds more security to capitalize the first letters of the different words: "ballzonecart" becomes "BallZoneCart".
► In terms of security, sheer length is superior to a shorter but random mix of numbers, letters and symbols.
Use Your Favorites
1. Focus on the things you like. Choose a favorite number (or two), a favorite word (or two), a favorite symbol (or two). Add the first one (or two) symbols that come to mind when you see the website address or the most prominent words on the sign-in page. Choose an order and put them all together into one long string. For example, four and crazy and _ could change into "four_crazy" or "_crafourzy".
Remove the Vowels
1. Take a word or phrase and remove the vowels from it. For example, "eat the cheeseburger" becomes "tthchsbrgr".
2. Replace vowels with numbers. Use Leetspeak
3. Try thinking of a name (BOB). Now use only the consonants, being BB. Then go back and plug any vowel you did not type. Your password would be BBO.
Use the Keyboard
1. Shift your fingers one key out of your normal typing position. If your password doesn't use the Q, A, or Z, you can hit the key to the left of your password. Or to the right if you don't use the P, L, or M. "Speedracer" goes to both sides, but "wikiHow" can become "qujugiq" or "eolojpe". You could also shift up and to the right or left. "wikiHow" becomes "28i8y92" or "39o9u03".
1. Connect the first letters of a sentence. Develop a password using the first letters of a sentence or phrase that means something to you - like your national anthem or a slogan you have seen somewhere. "Don't shop for it, Argos it" would become "DsfiAi".
1. Choose two words and combine their letters to create the password, choosing one letter of the first word and one letter of the second word, and repeating this until you get to the last letter of each word. An example could be:
Words: house & plane
Use Year and Month Plus Letters
1. Use the current year and first three letters of the current month. Then add the three letters from, say, your name. In this case, your password might read 2012marJoe. Next month, change it to 2012aprJoe. It's impossible to have the same password twice or to forget it.
2. Many users combine a date component inside a larger password. This helps when the password needs to change from time to time. But, remember to never use only a date - date-only passwords are at higher risk to being cracked than other choices.
Use a Book
1. Choose a favorite passage out of a book and use a word from the passage. For example, if your favorite book is "The Eye of the World", by Robert Jordan, and your favorite passage is the second paragraph on page 168, use a word from that passage. You can use the word Draghkar. So you would put 2Draghkar168. 2 is the paragraph number and 168 is the page number.
Turn Letters into Numbers
1. Think of a phrase or name for your password.
2. Type that name using the numbers located on the telephone number pad. The letters have now turned into numbers. It will make it more secure to add a random letter or symbol as well.
Substituting numbers for letters is called Leetspeak
1. Come up with a pass phrase. Length can be a huge advantage to memorization. If your typing is fairly accurate, consider large phrases from a book, speech or movie, such as:
► "It was a dark and stormy night!"
► "My fellow Americans!"
� "Houston, we have a problem."
2. Phrases are easy to memorize. The length of a pass phrase has several advantages:
► The length can provide security even if special symbols are not used. This can help with sites that prevent the use of symbols.
► Make good use of punctuation and capitalization to make a secure pass phrase that complies with common password rules.
1. Think of a random phrase. Let's say you choose "Scarlet Pickles".
2. Link the words. So you now have "ScarletPickles".
3. Reverse the phrase. Now it's selkciPtelracS.
4. Add numbers and symbols in-between. You might have "sel8k^ciPt99el()rac%S!".
Develop a Truly Random Password
1. Get a random sequence. Use software or, less reliable but usually effective enough, simply jot down letters and numbers as they come to your mind.
2. Focus on each letter of the password and come up with a mnemonic. A way to remember a randomized, assigned difficult password, like "tthertd" can be simple and fun. Think of a sentence in which there is one word beginning with each letter of the password; for example, "tthertd" could be "terrible tigers have every right to drive."
Develop an Algorithm
1. Come up with a sequence. To develop your algorithm, decide which steps you'll use to make your password. You could take the name of the website and then add the last four digits of a friend's home phone number to the end. (Don't use your own phone number, since a clever hacker could try the same algorithm in a dictionary attack.) The password for wikiHow might be "wikiHow4588". Maybe you would spell wikihow backwards. The more steps in your algorithm, and the more unpredictable each step is, and the more secure your password.
Use a Hash Function
1. Use a hash function so you only have to remember one master password. Use something like 'echo "
1. Pick a number with two or three digits.
2. Find your number on the keyboard. Look at the letters directly beneath it. Let's say you chose 1. The numbers directly beneath the 1 key are Q, A, andZ. Now, when you create your password, press the first number that you chose, then press all of the letter keys that are directly beneath it. Do this with all of your numbers. Now all you have to remember are the numbers.
� If you want a more difficult password, try capitalizing the first letter of the row, making one of the numbers a symbol, or something else along those lines.