It’s time to learn how to create super strong WordPress passwords that help keep hackers out. In a recent, post we pointed out some of the ways hackers get your password which then allows them to get into your WordPress site. Thus, you want to create strong WordPress passwords. Now let’s go over some of the ways you can fight back and use passwords that will be stronger and harder for hackers to figure out.
Below you will find some simple things you can do to make strong WordPress passwords:
- Password Variety: Password Variety: When we say variety, we mean variety–as in use a different password for every single site you login too. You might feel that is overkill, but it’s not. If a hacker gets one of your passwords that you use at 10 different locations they have access to all those sites. S,o even though it takes more time using different passwords, it’s what you must do to reduce the risk of having lots of sites hacked all at once.
- Stop Being Predictable: If you read our previous article on how hackers get your passwords, you will recall that they leverage human predictability in their software. Predictability makes it easier for them to guess at how you maybe creating your passwords. Thus random passwords are the way to go. But how do you create random passwords and then remember them? We’ll cover that in our next article on password security, but for now you need to know that creating random passwords will go a long way in creating strong passwords for your WordPress site or any other site where you need a password.
- Don’t Be Real: That means don’t use phrases or words that are recognizable. If your passwords you words or phrases that are recognizable in dictionaries and or are common phrases, then it’s part of being predictable and that weakens your passwords. It doesn’t help just because you use a different language either because hackers are aware of all the languages out there as well. So make sure your password is free and clean of real words or phrases.
- Go Long: Yep, you read it right! Go long. That means make really long passwords. Lots of websites won’t allow you to have a password with less than six characters but 10 or more characters is better. In fact if you have 18 to 20 characters in your password, then you’ll really be going long and that will produce some super strong passwords to help protect yourself. If you want to, use spaces in your long passwords because WordPress also accepts spaces as part of your passwords.
- Be Weird: Be weird? Yes, use some wild characters in your passwords. Yes use some numbers and letters but also include some odd characters (*&^><?#%^!@~`) in your passwords. Any of the other characters on your keyword can be used to help develop stronger passwords and help keep you from being predictable.
Combine those five tips together to develop some truly strong passwords for your WordPress sites and for any other site that requires a password. Use variety, be unpredictable, avoid real words and or phrases, make your passwords long and use weird characters and you’ll have passwords that frustrate hackers.
Now you have probably had this little question in your head as you’ve been reading, “How do I remember all these long random weird passwords?”. Great question. We’ll suggest some memory courses that will help you out. No, seriously unless you have some amazing gift at memorizing, you’ll need some help with these passwords. After all you don’t want passwords that you can memorize.
We’ll cover some great tools that can help you keep track of your passwords in our next security article that is coming in just a couple of days. See you then!
photo credit: marc Falardeau – cc