as part of my job (in the past!) i was responsible for helping security.. and posted on our local system, tips for easy to remember hard passwords..
one great trick it to take one of those word games that are sprung an 6th and 7th graders all the time..(you can sometimes find them in sunday comic sections too)
Fill in the blanks
88 K_ _ _ O_ a p _ _ _ _ k _ _ _ _ _ _ _
or
52 C _ _ _ _ I _ S _ _ _ _ _ _ D _ _ _
(the anwers being 88 keys on a piano keyboard/52 cards in standard deck -- and there are hundreds of others similar ones)
but 52cisd is a great password! as is
88koapa -- they are 'easy to remember, hard to crack'-- they seem like random number and letters.
(and they worked..our system required 6 characters, and at least on non-alpha character!)
On of my favorites, is S!itnol.. (not a current one obviously!) it is the first letters of Stop! In the Name of Love. -- which is an other great way to 'generate' passwords. and group of words or phrase that suits you lends its self-- ET,B! (et tu, brutes!) is only 5 characters, and 6 or more is better.. (and i know latin did not use comma's, but its the idea!)
these are also great for pin numbers.. (just use the telephone pad/number letter groups for letters)
so if you are using your birthday, or your eldest child's birthday, or your wedding aniversay, or the last 4 numbers of your SS# (these are also common passwords!) STOP
memory palaces are also great for passwords.. look around your desk, and focus on an object.. then think about it..
if you recieved it as gift, from your grand(child/mother/etc) for graduation/birthday/special event) one object can generate lots of differnt passwords. (-- directly or indirectly.. maybe grandmother is really NANA H.. or a graduation present might lead to 98TDPS (PS 98, The David Porter School-(NY city schools have both numbers and names) the first school you attended.. there is no obvious connection to photo in a frame to 98TDPS- but when you come back from vacation, and are trying to remember your passwords.. a memory palace helps!
