What a strong password actually means
A long phrase is easier to remember than a string with a special character in it — and it's more secure. Here's what actually makes a password strong.
What actually makes a password strong
Length matters more than complexity
A password made of a dozen or more characters is far harder to crack than a short one packed with symbols. Every extra character multiplies the time needed to guess it.
Use a passphrase instead of a puzzle
Four random words strung together, like "GreenMug7BikeTuesday", are both long and easy to remember — and harder to crack than "P@ssw0rd1".
One password per service
Reusing the same password in multiple places means a leak at one site opens the door to all the others. Give every service its own password.
Skip the obvious substitutions
Swapping "a" for "@" or "o" for "0" won't fool anything trying to guess your password automatically — these patterns are well known and checked first.
Why this isn't overkill
Password-guessing attempts are mostly automated — software tests millions of combinations a second, without distinguishing a small business from a large one. An employee's account at a small company is just as interesting a target as any other.
When it's a job for IT
- You suspect one of your passwords may have leaked in a breach at another site
- You're not sure whether passwords for company systems are stored securely
- You want to set a shared password policy for the whole team
- You've lost access to an account and a forgotten password can't be recovered through your work email
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