Creating an Easy-to-Recall Password

There are many ways of creating good passwords, but, they are very hard to remember or recall. Our focus is to create something secure (enough) and easy to remember. A good sample format/pattern will be:

<Word1><symbol><Word2><number>

Here are the Simple Steps:

1. Think of a 2-word name that you can remember: your favorite supermarket, restaurant, favorite TV show, a special place you visited.
2. Pick a symbol (_#,$%^&*!~) as a word separator
3. End your password with a number--a year of your vacation, your lucky number, etc.

Example:

Dunkin_Donut16

Bee%Hive1633

Third@Rock32

The#Beatles511

San^Franciso2001

Red$Sox2004

IMPORTANT:  Avoid using your birth date, phone number, or anything tied to your identity.

Have More Than One Password

Do not use the same password for all your online accounts. Create at least two passwords and prioritize them:

• Password #1: use only for most important accounts (banking, etc.)
• Password #2: use for general online shopping

The reason for having more than one password is that some online websites can trick you into registering for promotions to steal your password. They will then use your user name and password on other websites to exploit your other accounts. You can use one for the less critical stuff by having two passwords. If it is compromised, you at least prevent your critical accounts from being affected. 

Come Up with Your Own Pattern

You can see that we follow a format in coming up with a password. You also may want to derive a new pattern of your own. For instance, you may choose to put numbers between words instead of a symbol. Or you may choose to capitalize only the second word. The critical takeaway is to have a consistent pattern that only you know. This pattern will help you retrace a forgotten password easier.