You’ve come back to work after a very strange Christmas in lockdown, and you think it couldn’t get any worse. But then you need to think of a new password for the start of the year!

Often considered the most common problem an IT support technician will face, a password reset or forgotten password used to require a user to think of a new password on the spot. However, due to new security tools and processes coming into play, strong passwords are often generated in seconds. The downside of this is that they are extremely long and hard to remember.

I mean as lovely as 3$$%&”Q21”£*^$ is, I can remember the name of my cat much easier.

That’s why we recommend to our clients to use a password manager that takes the security of a generated password, but then stores it so you can retrieve it when you need to use it. Our choice is Passportal, but there are many on the market.

What not to use?

Although, if you do want to go ahead and create a strong password you can remember, please do not use any of the following words. As these are officially the most common (and worst) passwords of 2021.

1. 123456

2. 123456789

3. picture1

4. password

5. 12345678

6. 111111

7. 123123

8. 12345

9. 1234567890

10. senha

11. 1234567

12. qwerty

13. abc123

14. Million2

15. 000000

16. 1234

17. iloveyou

18. aaron431

19. password1

20. qqww1122

What are some tips to create a strong password?

• Make it long as the day!
  

  This is the most important piece of advice. Try to make your password nothing under 15 characters.

• Mix up those characters!

  The more combinations of characters you use the stronger your password will be. Think Upper case, lower case, number, and symbols. The more original and unique your password can be, the fewer chance hackers will get it.

• Stay Away From Substitutions!

  Hackers are used to many common substitutions, especially when it comes to numbers. Many users choose to swap E’s for 3’s and are putting themselves most at risk. Other common mistakes are 1’s for I’s and 0’s for O’s.

• Memorable Keyboard Patterns!

  Finally, stay away from easy keyboard patterns. Qwerty is a funny word to say, but one of the most common passwords users choose.

Need more help increasing security in your organisation?

We also offer a wide range of IT services including cybersecurity. Get in touch at 02920 887 362 or send us an email at info@excellence-it.co.uk

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