Author: Ian Betteridge
Date: 15/02/2008
With passwords, easy to remember is also easy to guess
What would you guess is the most commonly-used password? According to the marvellous Modern Life Is Rubbish blog, it’s as simple as "123".
And if that’s the password you’re currently using, then you should change it, pronto. But don’t choose "password" (which is number two on the list), "liverpool" (number three) or "letmein" (number four). None of those would stop someone getting into your accounts for more than a minute.
The thing about passwords is that they have two different forces pulling in opposite directions. On one hand, it needs to be something simple enough for you to remember. On the other, it needs to be difficult enough so that it can’t be guessed.
And that means that all of the things you find easy to remember, like your birthday, your kid’s names, and the name of your favourite football team are out of the window – they can all be easily guessed by anyone that knows you.
So instead, bite the bullet, choose a random string of letters and numbers, and spend some time memorizing it – it’s the best way to create a password which actually works.