Anyone who spends anytime on the web or around computers will inevitably have to make and remember passwords. I worked as a contractor to the Corp of Engineers for a while and found my password remembering skills quickly put to the test; we had lots of password with very strict acceptable password rules. In response, I developed a wonderful password method that has worked well for quite some time. People will see passwords I devise and gawk, but they’re actually easily remembered.

What Makes A Password Secure

In order to devise secure passwords, it helps to know what makes passwords secure. A secure password needs to be at least 8 characters long. (Many experts now say 10 to 12 characters.) It also needs to contain a variety of characters: upper and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters. And finally (the sticking point for most,) it shouldn’t contain more than two instances in a row of the same type of characters. (I.e. no more than two letters or numbers in a row.)

If you follow those rules, you will end up with a very confusing, hard to remember jumble of characters like Mp45Pw$%. It’s also hard to break, but to be honest, any password is breakable. It just takes time. So, theoretically, you should change your password every 3-6 months. (The amount of time it would take someone to brute force through your password; the longer the password, the longer you can wait before changing it.)

Note: I don’t worry about changing my passwords that often … Let’s face it, no one’s going to take 6 months to break into my running log at mapmyrun.com.

How to Make and Remember Your Password

For the purpose of this demonstration, I’ll use the seemingly random example I mentioned above: Mp45Pw$%. While that may look impossible to devise or remember, it only took me a few seconds.

First, I divide my 8 character password into 4 two digit chucks. I use the same basic password for all applications while changing just one of these two digit chunks.

First Password Chunk: The Seed

In the above password example, my first chunk is Mp. I always use an uppercase, lowercase first chunk. It’s something personal that I can remember. In this case, I used the phrase “My password” to come up with Mp.

Second Chunk: Numbers

The second chunk needs to be a different type of character. I switch to numbers and try to choose two numbers that are positioned next to each other on the keyboard. In this case, 45.

Third Chunk: The Key

This is the chunk that I change each time to make it application specific. In this case, I want to remember “password” and use the letters Pw. I try to use letters derived from the specific application. For instance, if I were making a password for my website (nicholasroussos.com,) I might use Nr or maybe I just think of it as “My website” and use Mw. Remember, for most applications, this will be the only part that changes … and thus the only part you have to remember.

Fourth Chunk: Special Characters

Finally, we need to throw in some special characters. I use the same method as I use for numbers. I take two special characters that sit next to each other on the keyboard. In fact, in this example, they are the same keys as the numbers I used (just hold shift.)

Added Security

Sometimes, you might want an additional layer of security. In those cases, I recommend these alternatives:

• Change the order above. For your secret diary, instead of the normal Mp45Sd$%, you might want to use Sd45Mp$%.
• Change up the numbers and/or special characters. Using the same secret diary example, you might want to try Mp23Sd@#.
• Change your first “seed” chunk to a super secret seed. Say for instance Ss45Sd$%.
• Add another chunk like Mp45Sd$%23.

Most of the time, you will only have to remember the two letters of the third chunk. It really is that easy. In fact, I’d wager that after reading this article, you’ll be able to remember Mp45Pw$% tomorrow morning, the week after that, and the week after that. (Just remember My password Mp, 45, Password Pw, 45 with shift $%)

Have fun devising and remembering passwords.