Strong password

The rules for creating a strong password. (Based on an article at cert.pl)

What exactly do we mean by "strong password"?

A strong password is a password that an unauthorized person will not be able to guess or crack using hacking tools.

The most common password breaking methods are the so-called dictionary attack, which consists in trying to use words from different dictionaries or a method called brute force, which consists in generating successive sets of strings. Current tools are so advanced that they can cope well with the simple additions to passwords, such as adding one or several digits at the end.

This leads to a simple conclusion - that a good password, is not necessarily a very long one, but certainly a complicated one.

Just realize that the ASCII code contains 256 characters, of which more than 200 can be used in the password. Limiting ourselves to lower case Latin letters, we use only 26 of them. Using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers we have 62 characters. In case of an eight-character password it gives more then a thousand more combinations, and therefore one needs more than a thousand times more time to figure them out with the methods we mention. If we add a few special characters, eg. $,! or +, we get a really strong password as a result.

Passwords that contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters can be generated randomly. The problem is, however, to remember them.

Many users keep their passwords on sticky notes attached to the keyboard or in a notebook. In this way, of course, the password is only as safe as it is difficult to physically access your notes. On the other hand, who can remember a dozen or so of passwords like "b% ^ 7 (L0>"?

Fortunately, there are good methods, that will allow you to choose passwords that are both complex and ... easy to remember!

Let's start with arranging or selecting a sentence that we are sure to remember. This may be our favorite saying, punch line of a joke, a quote. For example: "Litwo! Ojczyzno moja! Ty jestes jak zdrowie."

Let us write down the first letters of the words used in the quote. Adding punctuation marks, we immediately enrich the password: L!Om!Tjjz; Pretty good. We can even replace the letter "O" for the number zero "0" (remember, the wider use of a set of characters, the better).

L!0m!Tjjz;

And here we have a very good ten-character password you should be able to remember easily.

If you need to change your password frequently, you can use a technique similar to the one used with one-time passwords - use a fixed part and a variable one. For example, if the password is to be changed every week, let us introduce four or six additional characters at the end in form of the date of the Wednesday of the previous week.

Even better, if you slightly modify the date, for example by writing the digits in reverse order or replacing some numbers with their letter associations (0 = O, 4 = A, 5 = S, etc.), or corresponding special characters, obtained by pressing Shift + the digit (1 = !, 4 = $, etc.).

For the date of August 14 we therefore have: L!0m,tjjz;!$/)*

Remember! Do not use the exact sample password or methods listed in this document. Modify them slightly. Imagination knows no limits.

Good luck!