Memorable password generators are actually fairly straight forward. Rather than generating a random string of letters, numbers and characters, a memorable password generator uses algorithms to create a strong combination of recognisable words, capitalisation, characters and numbers.

One of the most common simple IT Support requests is from users which have forgotten their passwords. Unfortunately IT managers and support staff shouldn’t ever know your passwords, and certainly shouldn’t be willing to tell you them over an email, or phone – this poses a huge security risk and potentially a violation of your company’s IT Security Policy. However IT support staff thankfully should be able to help you reset your password and regain access to your account.

A useful way of making this situation less likely to occur, is to use a memorable password generator. These create a more secure and safe password format which utilises random but recognisable words e.g ‘IgnoreStarfishSwimmer92‘. It’s also possible to get these to use special characters in place of letters, to increase the security of your password, which is particular useful if the specific software / service you’re generating a password for requires the use of special characters, e.g ‘An@rchySl!ngB0yc0tt‘ (Anarchy Sling Boycott).

Best password practices

Using a completely random string of letters, characters and numbers will always be the safest way to secure your account using a password. You can also leverage password managers to store their passwords securely, so you don’t have to memorise them. This allows you to have a single unique strong password for the password manager tool (even better – add 2-factor to your password manager account!), which you can then access hundreds of stored passwords at any moment.

Most modern web browsers even support inserting passwords from your password manager on both desktop and mobile, such as Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari, which can help leverage their own password managers or integrate with third-party password managers.

It’s always important to ensure you create a strong password. Microsoft class a strong password as the following:

• At least 12 characters long but 14 or more is better.
• A combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Not a word that can be found in a dictionary or the name of a person, character, product, or organization.
• Significantly different from your previous passwords.
• Easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess. Consider using a memorable phrase like “6MonkeysRLooking^”.

Other benefits of password managers

Leveraging password managers also has a number of other benefits outside of the obvious advantage of not having to memorise your passwords.

Security checks to prevent reuse and compromise

Most reputable password managers can provide alerts if your passwords have been compromised, e.g from a website data breach where user information has then been leaked. This is extremely useful to become quickly aware of a potential security risk, allowing you to pop in and update your password quickly.

These also will often notify you if you’ve reused the same password on multiple websites. We strongly recommend using unique passwords for every service or website you access. This means if any platform happens to fall victim to a data breach, your password is only exposed for that single service / site, ensuring your accounts are safe elsewhere.

Securing additional information / notes

Many password mangers allow you to add notes to each of your stored passwords / accounts. This can be particularly useful if you have information associated with the account which you need to keep secure and safe. Rather than stuffing all of your crucial information into your phone’s notes app, pop them in the password manager’s notes linked to the account itself, allowing you to easily recall handy information associated with an account.

Syncing across multiple devices

Almost all modern password managers sync easily across multiple devices. Whether you’re using a laptop, desktop, iPhone or Android phone -password managers can generally be synced across all of these devices with very minimal effort required from the user. For example saving or editing a password on your desktop, then swapping to a phone only seconds later – your password will sync across to your phone almost instantly when trying to access that account.

Ensuring you and your business utilise best password practices will keep both yourself and any members of staff safe online, and prevent any future headaches. Take full advantage of password tools, such as memorable password generators and standard password generators, alongside password managers – many of which are available for free or very little cost. If you need further support, Intrasource have over 20 years of experience in Cyber Security Services, including partnerships with world class security vendors.

Contact us today via our online form or call 01482 628800 if you need help with password management and other Cyber Security requirements.