The New (Easier) Way to Make Strong Passwords

Computer passwords are a pain in the ass tbh! We're constantly prompted to create one that invovles a number, capital letter and sometimes even some punctuation. No one is remembering that stuff! 

But now a new standard for passwords is emerging and it's backed by a number of businesses and government agencies. 

No longer must you always update your password and include all these random numbers and letters. 

t's why every login page has a "Forgot password?" life preserver. The struggle even has a name: Password rage.

The new direction is one that champions less complexity in favour of length.

Passwords that once looked like this: "I10VezedeM!" can now be this: "ilistentozmateverychanceiget"

Requiring longer passwords, known as passphrases, usually 16 to 64 characters long, is increasingly seen as a potential escape route from the painful alternative of having passwords you will def forget.

A series of studies from Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that passphrases are just as good at online security because hacking programs are thrown off by length nearly as easily as randomness. To a computer, poetry or simple sentences can be just as hard to crack. Even better: People are less likely to forget them.

"You're definitely seeing more of it," said Michelle Mazurek, one of the Carnegie Mellon researchers, now at the University of Maryland College Park. "For equivalent amounts of security, longer tends to be more useful for people."

"Passphrases are much harder to crack and break, and much easier to remember." - Paul Grassi, NIST senior adviser.

So, ditch that combination of random letters, numbers and punctuation that you have to write in your phone notes anyway to remember, and create a great, long AF passphrase you'll remember!