TAC County Information Resource Agency (CIRA)

Learn how to create strong passwords and use a password manager to help you stay cyber safe.

Strong passwords are critical to protecting your accounts. Rather than using the same password for multiple accounts, create a unique password that's long, random and complex. It's recommended that passwords be 12-16 characters long and include different character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols). Another password best practice is to avoid commonly used words or phrases. Instead, try incorporating random combinations of letters, numbers and characters that do not resemble words found in a dictionary.

Using a password manager helps make this process easier by saving all your login credentials (usernames and passwords) in an encrypted database. So rather than remembering 100 different passwords, you only need to remember one: the password to your password manager. Password managers are also able to generate new passwords when needed.

The following resources from TAC CIRA and the National Cybersecurity Alliance include helpful tips for using strong passwords and a password manager:

• 1$ Y0uR P@$$w0rd S3curE?
• Passwords Tipsheet
• Password Managers Tipsheet