A weak password is the most common reason accounts get hacked. "123456", a birth date, or a pet's name can be guessed in seconds. Let's look at what makes a password strong and how to create one.
What makes a password strong
- Long. Length matters more than complexity: a 16-character password is stronger than an 8-character one, even with special symbols. Aim for at least 12 characters.
- Random. No words, dates, names, or keyboard patterns (qwerty, asdf).
- Varied. A mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, digits, and symbols increases the number of possible combinations.
- Unique. Use a different password for every site. Otherwise, a breach on one service opens the door to all the others.
How to generate a strong password
The simplest way to get a truly random password is to use a password generator. Set the length and character set, and the tool creates a password right in your browser — it is never sent to a server and is not stored anywhere. The strength meter shows you how resistant the password is.
What do "lowercase," "uppercase," and other site requirements mean
Many registration forms require a password with a specific composition, and the wording isn't always clear:
- Uppercase (capital) letter — a letter in upper case: A, B, W, Q. Lowercase — a regular, small letter: a, b, w, q. A requirement for "at least one uppercase letter" means one capital letter somewhere in the password is enough; the rest can be lowercase.
- Digit — 0–9, at least one.
- Special character — a symbol that isn't a letter or digit: !, @, #, $, %, -, _, and similar.
A password combining all four groups (uppercase, lowercase, digits, symbols) is much harder to brute-force than a password of the same length made only of lowercase letters.