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How to create a strong password
In This Article
Creating a strong password can be more difficult than you think.
Human nature influences us to use numbers that have special meanings, whether it’s a loved one’s birthday, the address of your home or the year you were born. Unfortunately, these kinds of numbers are easy for hackers to crack, and so aren’t advised.
But we also acknowledge that a random assortment of letters and numbers can be extremely difficult to remember, especially when you need to keep track of passwords for multiple different accounts.
In order to help, we’ve created this guide to show how you can create a strong password and keep it safely stored just in case you forget it. We’ll be usingNordPassfor this guide, but there are many other reliable password generators and managers you can check out – ourbest password managerhas a detailed breakdown.
But with NordPass currently available through NordVPN,which costs just £2.56 per monthwhen using theTrustedReviewscode at checkout, it’s certainly a bargain worth considering.
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What you’ll need:
The Short Version
Step1
Download the NordPass app
If you signed up to the Complete or Plus edition of NordVPN, you should have access to the NordPass app. Log in to your Nord account on a browser, and on the left sidebar you should see the NordPass icon. Click this, and then hit download for your desired platform.
Step2
Create an account
You’ll then be prompted to create a NordPass account or log in, if you haven’t already done so.Nord will also prompt you to create a master password. Make sure this is a secure password, but you can change this at any time in the future so don’t worry too much for now.
Step3
Click on Password Generator
Now you’ve opened the NordPass app, you should see the Password Generator option in the left sidebar under the Tools header. Click on it.
Step4
Pick your password preferences
You’ll then be presented with multiple options for your new password, including length, and whether it should have capital letters, numbers and symbols.
Step5
Click generate password
A password should now automatically be created up top, but if you’re not happy with it, you can click the ‘generate password’ button to create an alternative. You can keep clicking this until you’re happy with the password.
Step6
Press Save
If you’re somebody who struggles to remember their password, NordPass offers the option to save all of your passwords for easy future access. In order to do this, click save.
Step7
Fill in account details
NordPass will then ask you to enter the details of your account you want to store a password for. We used Netflix as an example for this guide.
Step8
Scroll down and hit Save
Once you’re happy with all of the account details, scroll down to the bottom of the page and press Save.
Step9
Find your new password under the Passwords category
Now you’ll be able to access any saved passwords via NordPass by clicking on the Password category.
FAQs
If you’d prefer to create your passwords manually, then we recommend using a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. You should not use any words or numbers that have sentimental meaning, like a birthday or home address, as they are easy to decipher. And the longer a password is the better.
Using the same password for multiple accounts is one of the most common mistakes. If one website has a data breach, this means that all of your online accounts could be at risk.
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Formerly the Staff Writer at Stuff Magazine, Ryan’s been writing about tech since he graduated from Cardiff University. At Trusted Reviews he is focused on everything computer-related, giving him a va…
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
