Password Generator

A password is usually a sequence of characters that may include letters, numbers, and symbols used to access something, typically an account, and prevent others from accessing it. In the current era of the internet, most people likely have experience obtaining passwords for various accounts. Therefore, it is essential to understand how to create a strong password (or use a password generator) and take necessary measures to protect it.

Password strength is a measure of how effective a password is against guessing or hacker attacks. Generally, password strength is an estimate of the average number of attempts required for someone to successfully guess the password. This is influenced by the length, complexity, and unpredictability of the password. For example, if a password includes someone's name, birthdate, or other easily discoverable personal information, it is likely to be weak. Regardless of the actual password, proper security controls play a crucial role in reducing the risk of security breaches. Security controls include measures like two-step authentication for your password, or locking the account for a period after a certain number of failed attempts.

Creating a secure password involves following certain rules designed to increase password security. This largely includes creating a strong password but also involves aspects such as changing the password regularly and being aware of common passwords to avoid using them (e.g., "password," "123456," "qwert..."). Here are some rules that can be used to create a strong password:
- Include lowercase letters [a-z]
- Include uppercase letters [A-Z]
- Include numbers [0-9]
- Include symbols [!@#$%^&*()...]
- Exclude words containing personal information
- Exclude words found in blacklists for passwords – there are online blacklists for passwords, or a company/organization may have its own blacklists
- Exclude the company/organization name and abbreviations
- Exclude passwords that match common formats, such as calendar dates, license plate numbers, phone numbers, or other common number formats
Additionally, many password policies usually include a minimum password length because, in general, the longer the password and the more diverse the types of characters, the more secure the password.

The password generator also determines password entropy, measured in bits. The higher the entropy, the more challenging it becomes to guess the password. In the context of hacker brute-force attacks (where all possibilities are tested), a password entropy of 100 bits would require 2^100 attempts to exhaust all possibilities. However, on average, nearly half of these possibilities would need to be exhausted before finding the correct option.

Protecting your password is equally important as having a strong password. Here are some suggested measures to help protect your password. There may be other actions anyone can take, but here are some guidelines that may help:
- Never share your password with others – Ideally, you should be the only person who knows your password. Even if you trust the person you're sharing your password with and they have no malicious intentions, they might not be as cautious about protecting your password. The more people who know your password, the higher the risk of someone else accessing your account.
- Do not use the same password across different websites and accounts – While it might be convenient to use the same password across different websites and accounts, it is not advisable. Having the same password for all your accounts, regardless of how strong the password is, could mean that a security breach in one account jeopardizes the security of all your accounts. Using a password manager can help you manage your passwords more easily and increase security by allowing you to use different passwords for different accounts.
- Regularly change your passwords – While this is another inconvenient measure, it theoretically helps maintain the security of your accounts. This helps in cases where someone might know your password, can access it, but might not immediately attempt to do something harmful. In these cases, changing your password would limit the time they have access to your account, assuming they can't determine the new password immediately. In cases where you've stored your password on an old device you may have sold or discarded, changing your password would disable anyone from using the stored password.
- Never save your passwords on public devices – Ideally, avoid saving passwords altogether to reduce the risk of unwanted access to your accounts. Similarly, be cautious about accessing sensitive accounts on insecure public networks.
- Do not keep clear lists of your passwords accessible to others, whether physical or electronic – For example, a sticky note on your desk with accounts and passwords, a Word document on your desktop named "Passwords" with information for all your accounts, or a note on your mobile phone could expose you to unnecessary risk of losing your password. As mentioned earlier, consider using a password manager instead. Phones and laptops can be lost or stolen. Ideally, a person should use a password manager or be able to remember their passwords for different accounts based on the specific account.