Strong Passwords: Your First Line of Defense

Being Safe Online is very important as more and more of our lives are online. From banking, to medical information, from bill paying, to checking your grades, it is all done on-line.

Your very first line of defense is having a good password.

Think of your password like the key to your house. If it’s strong, it keeps unwanted visitors out. If it’s weak, it is like leaving your door wide open – and you’re inviting trouble. Whether you’re logging into email, social media, school accounts, or a work system, your password is your first line of defense.

Unfortunately, a lot of people still use passwords that are easy to guess or break, and attackers are getting smarter every day.

In this section, we’ll look at what makes a password strong, how hackers actually break passwords, and why simple changes can make a huge difference in protecting your personal information.

Why Passwords Matter

Passwords protect more than just your logins. They help secure your:

• Personal identity
• Financial accounts
• School or job information
• Email (which can unlock almost everything else)

If someone gets your email password, they can often reset all your other accounts. That’s why having strong, unique passwords is one of the most important things you can do to stay safe online.

How Passwords Get Cracked

To understand why strong passwords matter, you need to know how attackers try to break them. Here are the two most common methods:

Brute Force Attacks

A brute force attack is exactly what it sounds like: the attacker tries every possible combination of characters until they find the right one. It’s like trying every key on a giant key ring until one finally works.

This method takes time. But computers are fast, and the more powerful the machine, the quicker it can go through combinations. Here’s the problem: short passwords are much easier to crack this way. But as computers get even faster, it means our passwords have to be longer and more complex to be safer.

Let’s say your password is just four numbers, like 1234. A computer can crack that in milliseconds because there are only 10,000 possible combinations (0000 to 9999). But if your password is 12 characters long and includes letters, numbers, and symbols, the number of possible combinations becomes trillions, and that’s much harder to break.

Dictionary Attacks

A dictionary attack doesn’t use random guesses. Instead, it goes through a list of the most common passwords and real words people tend to use. This includes:

• Names (Jessica, Mike, admin)
• Words like “password,” “welcome,” or “letmein”
• Keyboard patterns like 123456, qwerty, or asdfgh
• Birthdays or years like 1989, 2000, or 2023

Believe it or not, some of the most commonly used passwords in the world are:

• 123456
• password
• 123456789
• qwerty
• iloveyou
• admin
• welcome

If you’re using any of these (or something close), it’s like hiding your house key under the doormat.

Real-World Example

In 2021, hackers leaked a list of more than 8 billion passwords in a breach known as RockYou2021. Security researchers found that many of the passwords were incredibly short or weak. A password like summer2020 might seem clever, but it was cracked in seconds.

The takeaway? If it’s common or predictable, someone out there is trying it.

What Makes a Password Strong?

A strong password is:

• Long (at least 12 characters)
• Complex (uses a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols)
• Unique (not reused on other accounts)
• Unpredictable (not based on easy-to-guess info like your name or birthday)

Let’s break that down.

Length Is Your Superpower

The longer your password, the harder it is to crack—even with brute force. This is the single most important factor in password strength.

Compare these examples:

• book (4 characters): breakable in less than a second
• bookcase (8 characters): breakable in minutes
• myBookCollectionIsGreat! (24 characters): might take centuries to crack

Even without special characters, a long password made up of several words is much stronger than a short one with symbols. A good rule of thumb: aim for at least 12 characters, and longer if possible.

Use a Mix of Character Types

Adding numbers, capital letters, and symbols makes your password harder to guess. Try this simple evolution:

• sunflower (all lowercase): easy to break
• Sunflower23 (adds a capital letter and numbers): better
• SuNf!0wer23# (includes random capitalization and symbols): much stronger

Avoid Common Words or Phrases

Attackers use huge databases of words and common passwords. If your password is in a dictionary—even if it’s a long word—it can still be cracked quickly.

Avoid:

• Real words by themselves (like “dragon” or “unicorn”)
• Personal details (your pet’s name, your birthday)
• Keyboard patterns (qwerty, 1q2w3e, etc.)

Make It Unique

Never use the same password on more than one account. If one site gets hacked and your password is stolen, attackers will try that same password on your other accounts. This is called “credential stuffing,” and it’s a major problem today.

Even small variations like Password1, Password2, and Password3 aren’t good enough. A password should be completely different from site to site.

Easy Ways to Create Strong Passwords

Coming up with unique, complex passwords for every account can feel overwhelming—but there are a few simple tricks.

Passphrases

Instead of a random string, use a sentence or group of unrelated words. For example:

• CoffeeTableDuck!72
• PurpleRainPizzaTruck!
• IL0veToReadAtN1ght

Passphrases are easier to remember and just as secure – especially if they’re long.

Password Managers

A password manager is a secure tool that stores all your passwords so you don’t have to remember them. You only need to remember one master password. Examples include:

• LastPass
• Bitwarden
• 1Password
• Dashlane

Most browsers also offer to save passwords, though these aren’t always as secure as dedicated tools. Also, saving it to a browser means if you lose access to that browser, you might have lost all your passwords, where you can often store the database of passwords in a password manager separately, and have a backed up version.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Even the best password can be stolen. That’s why many sites offer two-factor authentication. This means you need your password and something else (like a code sent to your phone) to log in.

Always turn on 2FA when it’s available. It’s one of the best ways to protect your accounts. The minor inconvenience of having to check a second app, or enter a second code, is well worth it from a security standpoint.

What to Avoid

Let’s recap a few bad password habits to avoid:

• Using the same password everywhere
• Using short, simple, or common words
• Writing passwords on sticky notes
• Sharing your password with others
• Skipping updates to passwords after a breach

If a site you use gets hacked, change your password immediately, especially if you used that password anywhere else.

Password Myths That Put You at Risk

Even though passwords have been around for decades, a lot of the advice people follow today is based on old rules, or are just plain wrong. Let’s bust some six common password myths that could actually be making your online life less secure.

Myth 1: You Have to Change Your Password Every 30 Days

This rule used to be common in schools and workplaces, but it turns out that frequent forced changes can actually make security worse. Why? Because people start using patterns that are easy to remember but also easy to guess.

For example, changing Winter2024! to Spring2024! might check the box, but it doesn’t really improve your protection.

I was speaking with a coworker, who was surprised that hackers could figure out he was using password1, password2, password3, etc. Another friend I knew from college said when he had to change his password at work, he had to update so many accounts, it took him nearly 30 minutes. Luckily many IT departments use either a Single Sign On (SSO), or a password management tool, which will update all of your passwords for all of your accounts automatically.

What to do instead:
Only change your password when there’s a reason, like after a data breach, or if you think your account may have been accessed. Use strong, unique passwords and turn on two-factor authentication.

Many places encourage changing your password regularly, and may even force you to. Other people say it’s a good idea, but not every 30 days. Instead, focus on doing it quarterly.

Myth 2: You Don’t Need a Strong Password for “Unimportant” Accounts

It’s tempting to use a weak or reused password for things like streaming services or newsletters. But here’s the danger: if that account gets hacked, the attacker may try the same password on your email, bank, or school accounts.

Hackers often start with the easiest target and work their way up.

What to do instead:
Use unique passwords for every account. If that sounds impossible, use a password manager (discussed earlier) to keep track of them.

Myth 3: Adding a Symbol or Number Makes Any Password Secure

Some people think that throwing an exclamation point at the end of their dog’s name is enough to be secure. For example: Buddy! or Password1!

While this helps overall, it isn’t a magic bullet to make you automatically safe. That’s because hackers already know this trick. These patterns are in every password-cracking dictionary file.

What to do instead:
Make your password longer and less predictable. Think in terms of passphrases instead of words, and mix up the character types in unpredictable ways.

Myth 4: You Can’t Remember Strong Passwords

That might be true if you’re using something like Jg$4z!89v@Qk. But strong passwords don’t have to be random strings of characters.

What to do instead:
Use passphrases that combine random words, phrases, or mental images. Something like GiraffeCoffeeBasket42! is easy to remember, long enough to be secure, and still tough to crack.

Better yet, use a password manager to generate and store complex passwords for you.

Myth 5: Saving Passwords in Your Browser Is Totally Safe

Browser-based password saving is better than using weak or reused passwords. However it’s not as secure as using a dedicated password manager.

If someone gains access to your computer, they may be able to see your saved passwords, especially if your device isn’t locked or encrypted. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone leave their work computer unattended for a few minutes. I’ve even seen cyber security experts do this.

What to do instead:
Use tools like Bitwarden, 1Password, or Dashlane. These encrypt your data and require a master password to access.

Myth 6: Hackers Just Guess Passwords One by One

We like to imagine a hacker sitting at a keyboard typing guesses like “dog,” “dog1,” “dog2”… but that’s not how it works.

Most attackers use automated tools that can try millions of guesses per second, using massive dictionaries of known passwords and patterns. That’s why short or common passwords are useless, no matter how clever they sound.

What to do instead:
Focus on length, uniqueness, and randomness. A computer can’t “think” creatively, so the more unpredictable your password is, the better.

Practice Challenge

Take a look at your current passwords. Are they long? Unique? Complex?

If you have any accounts with short or reused passwords, pick one and make it stronger today.

Try using a passphrase or password manager if you haven’t already.

Final Thoughts

A strong password is your best defense against hackers, scams, and identity theft. It might feel like a small detail, but it protects everything else.

Start with your most important accounts: email, school login, banking, and anything tied to your identity. Make those passwords strong, unique, and hard to guess.

In the next section, we’ll look at another major safety concern: how to spot and avoid online scams, including phishing emails, fake websites, and impersonators trying to trick you into giving up your info.

Strong Passwords: Your First Line of Defense was originally found on Access 2 Learn