The very first step to preventing a malicious hacker from breaking into your computer accounts and hence into your privacy is having a hard-to-guess password in place. The use of different methods to incorporate variety into your password rather than using predictable ones makes it easy for you to remember them while it also makes it virtually impossible for any stranger to guess correctly.
Below are some basic tips to guide you through setting strong passwords; even the ones backdoor issues can’t have a take on.
Make Use of Theme-Related Passwords
When choosing your password, you can decide to choose a common, significant event, such as a new car, a honeymoon, new job, birth of a child, e.t.c. This actually helps you create passwords with a variety of words associated with an event and which would also be very difficult for other people to guess.
Example of such passwords includes TriesThatGrip, icechips, blueetes, goldenbracelet, and many more.
Substitute Numbers for Letters in Resemblance to The Way They Appear
To make things more difficult for a total stranger to have access to your devices, you can set up passwords by visualizing numbers that look like a particular letter and substitute such for each other. For instance, you can decide to write water as w4t3r or bucas as 8uca5.
Substitute Numbers for Letters Based on Their Location on the Keyboard
If you take a close look at your keyboard, you will notice the uppermost row of letters on it also has a set of numbers in a row above it. That is the letters QWERTYUIOP has the numbers 1234567890 right above them. You can decide to substitute a number for a corresponding letter as in the following examples:
- Bucas becomes b7ca
- Purple becomes 07r013
- Butter becomes b75534
- Pocket becomes 07ck35
Consistently Keep the nth Letter(S) of Your Password Capitalized
As we have today, where many systems will require that at least one character of the password be uppercase. It’s very common to see people capitalize the first character. This is not very advisable. Instead, choose to capitalize the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th letter. Examples include purple, hurry, rocket e.t.c.
You can as well make the guesswork more difficult by capitalizing more than one character of the password. For example, you can capitalize the 2nd and the 4th letter, the 1st and the 3rd letter.
Use Counterpane Labs’ Password Safe Tool to Store Your Passwords
This method was constantly being recommended for internet users by many security firms, including Hikvision as a good way to keep themselves safe from hackers. With the help of the robust Blowfish algorithm, all passwords are encrypted and stored. One interesting thing about this tool is that it silently copies your password to the clipboard when you double-click on a previously stored password entry. This allows you to paste in your password even if others are watching you type.
Double Check the Quality of Your Password at Securitystats.Com
The site tells you how good your password is by running some calculations on it based on its complexity and ‘”guessability”. Even in the face of any backdoor issues, you can be sure a password that passes this site will have nothing to fear. However, it is advisable you try similar password to get the characteristics of a good one instead of your actual password bearing in mind that passwords are being transmitted over the internet in the clear.
