by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: June 07, 2009

When considering how to create a good online password, we have to bear in mind several things. We first of all have to ensure that the password is one which we ourselves will easily be able to recall from memory when required to do so, we have to ensure that it is not one which anyone who knows us would be able to guess and we have to ensure it is one which a hacker would not easily be able to determine via any form of randomising equipment or techniques.

A strong online password is one which will be an absolute minimum of six characters in length, though preferably longer. There are many sites which will not allow us to create a password of less than six or even eight characters. It should also include a mixture of numbers and letters, simply to increase the number of variables.

When contemplating what our online password should be, the first step is of course to ensure that it is one which we ourselves will be able to remember, without having to write it down anywhere. Writing our password down - anywhere at all - is never a good idea, as however safe we may think the location where we write it down may be, the loss of a diary, the break-in to a house or office or the simple chance discovery by a third party can cause us an unimaginable series of problems.

The password should never be something which even our best friend or closest relative would be capable of guessing. It should therefore not be such as our mother's maiden name, the name of our pet, or the name of our favourite sports' team. It should be something uniquely personal to us and us alone and the way to best achieve this is to make it meaningless.

To create a meaningless password is of course difficult as it requires that we memorise it and those who do not have the greatest memory in the world may find this challenging. What someone in this situation could therefore do is make the password a combination of such as two or three, three-character codes which do mean something to them and them alone. I personally created a lengthy series of meaningless numbers and letters for my online password some time ago and have been using it for so long that it is imprinted upon my brain. This is something which will happen through time.

It is an inconvenience having to come up with a strong online password in many instances but the benefits of doing so cannot be under-stated. If anyone else gains access to our online presence, they could adversely affect our banking information, our personal details on such as social networking sites and any number of factors designed to cause maximum disruption to our lives or much worse. The benefits therefore far outweigh the drawbacks and the nature of the concept makes creating such a password imperative.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.