How To Create Strong Passwords That You Can Remember Easily

Creating strong passwords for all your online accounts is not a thing you should do. It is a thing you must do. Two months ago, my Google account was hacked into. The hackers changed my password and blocked my access to the account. Luckily, I discovered this early and got Google to change my password via my secondary email account.

Last week, the MakeUseOf Google account was also hacked into and the hacker had the audacity to transfer the MakeUseOf domain out and blackmail the owner. In case you are still thinking that your password is strong and safe, maybe it’s time to wake up.

What makes a strong password?

I shall not elaborate on this since many sites have already discussed this in great detail. In a nutshell, a strong password must constitute the following:

• It needs to contain special characters such as @#$%^&
• It must be at least 8 characters long.
• It must not have any common words such as 123, password, your birth date, your login name and any words that can be found in the dictionary.
• a variation of capitalization and small letters

In my opinion, even if your password consists of the above, it is still not enough. Your password needs to be totally unique and different for each and every one of your online accounts. This is to make sure that in the event that one account is hacked into, your other accounts will not be affected.

You must be wondering how you are going to remember so many passwords when you have a problem remembering your existing one. Here are some steps that I have used and they are very powerful. Here it is:

1. First, think of a thing, date, phrase, event, place or anything that is unique only to you. It must be at least 8 characters long. I call this the salt term. For demonstration purposes, I will use my name Damien Oh as the salt term throughout this article. Note that the capital letters and the space in between the name are part of the salt term. For your own account, please select a salt term that is difficult for other to guess.

2. I used the following rules to replace the regular characters with special characters. You can form your own rule.

• Replace all the ‘a’ with @
• Replace all the ’s’ with $
• Repalce any space with %
• Replace any ‘o’ with 0
• Replace any ‘i’ with !

In this case, the simple term Damien Oh becomes D@m!en%Oh.

3. Now go to Password Meter and test the strength of your salt term. This is the result of the above term. If your salt term is not strong enough, you will see a list of items that you can improve on.

4. Once you are happy with your salt term and are sure that only you can decipher it, go to any of your online accounts now. To set a password for that account, append the name of the site, or the URL of the site to the end of your salt term.

For example, for a MakeUseOf account, I will use D@m!en%OhM@keU$e0f as my password and use D@m!en%OhG00glem@!l for my Gmail account. If you do this for each and every one of your sites, you will be surprised to find that you have just created tens, hundreds, or even thousands of different passwords that you can remember easily.

Instead of the site name or the URL, you can also a variation of the site names or any other names that are related to the site.

Is that enough?

That is only the beginning. To really make it secure and hard for others to guess, you will need to change your password every few months. Some of you may find it a chore to come up with new passwords every month. Here is what you can do:

Instead of appending the site name to the end, you can now append it to the front, in the middle or even split the site name out into few parts. For example:

• M@keD@m!enU$e0h0f
• M@keU$eD@m!en%0h

You can also change the replacement characters such as @ for ~ and whatsoever. You can also do a complete changeover of your salt term to come up with a totally different password.

Conclusion

Generating and using a strong password is only your first line of defense against hackers. The most important thing that you should take note of is your internet browsing habits. When you are using a public terminal, make sure that it has the proper firewall and anti-virus installed, make sure your network is secure, log out when you are done with your session and clear the cache once you are done.

What other methods do you use to generate your passwords?

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What It Means to 'Manage Up'

Q: I've been fairly successful in my career. I have great rapport with the people who work for me and almost always get along well and work well with my peers. But more than once I have been told that I need to learn how to "manage up." What, exactly, does that mean?

A. When someone tells you that you need to "manage up," what he or she is really saying is that you need to stretch yourself. You need to go above and beyond the tasks assigned to you so that you can enhance your manager's work, says Rosanne Badowski, co-author of "Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship With Those Above You."

Ms. Badowski should know. She served as executive assistant to Jack Welch at General Electric Co. for more than 14 years and spent countless hours managing up. "Doing what you can to make your manager's job easier will not only help them do their job, but you will be considered a valuable asset to your manager and to your organization," she says. "You want to be described as indispensable."

By mastering the "managing up" concept, you can help others recognize your value within the organization. "It will give you an advantage when you are being considered for greater job responsibilities," says Ms. Badowski. "It will help in your career advancement, and it gives you an edge over the competition when you are being considered for promotions."

Atlanta-based executive coach Mariette Edwards also knows firsthand what it means to "manage up." She remembers early on in her career being tossed out of her boss's office on a regular basis. "It was only when I realized I was not 'managing up' that I was able to change my approach and win that boss over," she explains.

Ms. Edwards says that there are numerous strategies her clients often overlook when it comes to managing up. For example, getting to know one's manager – and his or her style. "If you and your manager seem to be speaking two different languages, then the problem may be that you are not leaning into that person's style," says Ms. Edwards. "An analytical [type boss] will take exception to someone who presents an idea without data to support it. A people person will be offended in the absence of regular communication." Knowing your manager's style -- and adjusting your own to meet it -- will help you manage up, she says.

There are plenty of other easy steps you can take to become adept at managing up, according to Ms. Edwards. Important ones include: paying attention; jumping in when needed; maintaining a good attitude no matter what; doing quality work; keeping your boss informed; building relationships, trust and an information network; staying out of politics; learning the art of selling and negotiation as well as the company's rules; and being a good follower when the situation dictates it.

With today's shaky economy, learning to manage up is more important than ever. "You want to stand out," says Ms. Badowski. "In this age of possible cutbacks in employment or reductions in work, you want to be categorized by management and your company as someone too valuable to lose."

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