How Strong Is Your Password?
Your password is the lock on your digital front door. Most people choose a password that is easy to remember — and that makes it easy to guess.
The good news: making your password stronger is simpler than you think. You do not need to memorise random strings of characters. You just need to understand two things: length and variety.
Why Length Matters Most
The single most important factor in password strength is length.
Every character you add multiplies the number of possible combinations an attacker must try. Here is a simple way to visualise it.
8 Characters
A password with 8 lowercase letters has roughly 200 billion possible combinations. That sounds like a lot — until you learn that modern computers can try all of them in under a second.
12 Characters
Add four more characters and the number jumps to over 9000 trillion combinations. That is thousands of times harder to crack.
16 Characters
At 16 characters, you reach a point where brute-force attacks become practically impossible with current technology. The number of combinations is so large that even the fastest supercomputers would take centuries.
The rule is simple: longer is stronger. Each additional character makes your password exponentially harder to break.
Why Special Characters Help
Length is the foundation, but variety adds another layer.
Special characters — symbols like !, @, #, $, %, &, and * — expand the pool of possible characters. Instead of 26 letters (lowercase), attackers must now consider uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. That is over 90 possible characters per position instead of 26.
A Practical Example
Compare these two 12-character passwords:
ilovecoffee— 12 characters, lowercase onlyIlovecoffee!— 12 characters, mixed case plus a symbol
The second password is not just slightly harder to crack. It is billions of times harder. The attacker must now try uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and symbols for each position, rather than just lowercase.
The Problem with Common Passwords
Every year, security researchers publish lists of the most commonly used passwords. They include:
123456passwordqwertyletmeinadmin
If your password appears on this list, it is the first thing an attacker will try. These passwords are cracked in milliseconds.
Even passwords that include names, birthdays, or dictionary words are vulnerable. Attackers use dictionaries of common words and predictable substitutions (like p@ssw0rd) to crack passwords automatically.
How to Create a Strong Password
You do not need to be a security expert to create a strong password. Here are three practical methods.
The Passphrase Method
Pick four or more random words and string them together. For example: correct-horse-battery-staple. This creates a long password that is easy to remember but incredibly hard to crack.
The Sentence Method
Take a sentence that means something to you and use the first letter of each word, adding numbers and symbols where natural. For example: I started working here in 2019! becomes Iswhei2019!.
Use a Password Manager
A password manager generates and stores strong, unique passwords for every account. You only need to remember one master password. Popular options include Bitwarden, 1Password, and KeePass.
One Password Per Account
Reusing the same password across multiple accounts is one of the most common — and most dangerous — mistakes people make.
If one account is breached, attackers will try that same password on your email, bank, and social media accounts. This is called credential stuffing, and it works alarmingly often.
Use a different password for every account. A password manager makes this manageable.
The Bottom Line
A strong password does not need to be complicated. It needs to be long and varied.
Aim for at least 12 characters. Mix uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid common words and predictable patterns. And never reuse passwords across accounts.
In our next article, we will look at passkeys — the technology that may eventually make passwords obsolete entirely.
