The Definitive Guide To Creating A Perfect Password

If your password is "password," this is for you. Norton Security is here to help you be as secure as possible.

Ughhhh passwords. Can't live with them, can't live without them, right?

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Dan seriously regrets using his ex-girlfriend's dog's name as his online bank account password.

Wrong. Turns out you CAN live with them. We'll make it easy for you.

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Time to unlock the perfect password secrets.

1. First of all, if your password actually is "password..."

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...you should probably just stop using the internet at this point tbh.

2. In fact, if your password is just any word in the dictionary, that's still not OK.

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That's not a rat. That's a hacker. Watch how easy it is for him to crack your simple one-word password.

3. If your password is a phrase, then that's certainly a ~beet~ better.

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But only if it's not a phrase from pop culture or famous literature. If it is, then at least try to mix it up by throwing in a random word.

4. The longer and more complex your password is, the stronger it is.

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He's saying our password. Forget hackers — not even the world's best lip readers can crack it.

5. And by substituting in symbols and randomly capitalized letters, your password becomes even more uncrackable.

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Wh0 Kn3w †yP1nG Lyk3 tH1$ w0uLd ac†µaLly b u$3ful?

6. Security experts recommend that you think of a memorable phrase and then shorten it into a sequence of letters and symbols to form a password.

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This is known as the Schneier Method.

7. Another popular method suggests that you think of a random person (either famous or someone you know), an action, an object, and an interesting setting.

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Now imagine what that scene would look like. That should help you remember it. This method is called the PAO Method (short for person-action-object).

8. Now here are some dos and don'ts for you: Don't reuse passwords. For any site or account.

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Well look at that, the hacker came back again because you used the same password twice.

9. Do use muscle memory.

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If the password is easy to enter on the keyboard, it'll be easier for you to remember.

10. Don't trust the security question.

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The backup system for remembering your password shouldn't be easier to crack than the password itself. Plus, it just leads to even more questions.

11. Do enable two-step authentication whenever it is offered.

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Because two heads are always better than one. This will alert you via text message or phone call whenever someone has logged in to one of your accounts.

12. Do change your password.

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Something's off, you sense it in the air. Were you hacked or are you just being paranoid? If it makes you feel any better, just know that constantly changing your password does not make you any more or less susceptible to attacks.

If the thought of remembering all your passwords is making your brain hurt, use a password manager. And kick up your online security by actively protecting yourself with Norton, because no one wants to meet a hacker.