Strong passwords are important protections to help you have safer online transactions.
Keys to password strength: length and complexity
An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.
- Whenever possible, use at least 14 characters or more.
- The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.
- Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.
Create a strong password you can remember
There are many ways to create a long, complex password. Here is one way that may make remembering it easier:
| What to do | Suggestion | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Start with a sentence or two (about 10 words total). | Think of something meaningful to you. | Long and complex passwords are safest. I keep mine secret. (10 words) |
| Turn your sentences into a row of letters. | Use the first letter of each word. | lacpasikms (10 characters) |
| Add complexity. | Make only the letters in the first half of the alphabet uppercase. | lACpAsIKMs (10 characters) |
| Add length with numbers. | Put two numbers that are meaningful to you between the two sentences. | lACpAs56IKMs (12 characters) |
| Add length with punctuation. | Put a punctuation mark at the beginning. | ?lACpAs56IKMs (13 characters) |
| Add length with symbols. | Put a symbol at the end. | ?lACpAs56IKMs" (14 characters) |
