Random Password Generator

Understanding Password Security

In today’s digital world, passwords are essential for protecting access to accounts and keeping personal information secure. A password is typically a string of characters that may include letters, numbers, and symbols. It serves as a barrier to prevent unauthorized access to your accounts. Since most people today use passwords regularly, it’s important to understand how to create strong ones—and how to keep them safe.

What Is Password Strength?

Password strength refers to how resistant a password is to being guessed, especially through brute-force attacks. It’s typically estimated by how many attempts it would take on average to guess the password. A strong password is one that’s long, complex, and unpredictable.

Passwords based on personal information like your name or birthday are generally weak and easy to guess. To improve password strength, avoid predictable elements and instead focus on random combinations.

Security controls—like two-factor authentication and account lockouts after multiple failed login attempts—also play a critical role in minimizing security breaches.

How to Create a Strong Password

Here are some essential guidelines to follow when creating a secure password:

• Use lowercase letters [a-z]

• Use uppercase letters [A-Z]

• Include numbers [0-9]

• Add symbols such as !@#$%^&*()

• Avoid personal information (names, birthdays, etc.)

• Don’t use blacklisted passwords (e.g., “password”, “123456”, “qwerty”)

• Exclude company or institution names and their abbreviations

• Avoid common formats (e.g., dates, license plates, phone numbers)

Password length matters: The longer and more varied a password is, the harder it becomes to crack. Many systems enforce a minimum length for this reason.

If you’re using a random password generator, you may choose to exclude ambiguous characters like I, l, and 1, which can look similar and cause confusion. However, note that excluding characters reduces the total number of possible combinations, which slightly lowers overall password strength.

Password Entropy

Password entropy is a measure of a password’s unpredictability, expressed in bits. Higher entropy means a password is more difficult to guess.

For example, a password with 100 bits of entropy would take up to 2¹⁰⁰ combinations to crack via brute force. On average, half of those combinations would need to be attempted before successfully guessing it.

Tips for Protecting Your Passwords

Creating a strong password is just the first step. Protecting it is equally important. Here are some best practices:

• Never share your passwords. Even trusted people might not handle them with the same level of care.

• Avoid reusing passwords across accounts. A single breach could compromise all your accounts if they share the same password. Consider using a password manager to handle multiple secure passwords.

• Change passwords regularly. This limits the time someone can access your account if your password is ever compromised.

• Don’t save passwords on public or shared devices. Also, avoid accessing sensitive accounts over unsecured public Wi-Fi.

• Avoid obvious or unprotected password lists. Don’t keep passwords on sticky notes, in a file named “passwords,” or in unsecured notes on your phone. A password manager is a safer option, or try to memorize them when possible.