The difference between a password and a passphrase can be the difference in having personal data leaked to thousands, if not millions.
A password consists of a combination of one or two words, some numbers and maybe some symbols.
A passphrase is an entire phrase, sentence, or statement made of four to ten words.
A password usually focuses on exchanging letters for numbers or characters, where a passphrase can just consist of a meaningful sentence that is easy for the owner to remember and harder for someone to hack.
As hacking became more advanced and effective so did password complexity, thus the issue arouse that no one can remember their passwords. It is important to realize that it is a computer program attempting to hack your passwords, not a person typing in possible combinations.
Since it is a computer program that is used to hack a password, the longer the password the better. Do not worry so much about complexity since that only makes it harder to remember. Choose a phrase that is memorable to you, and is ideally more than 4 words.
The more unique your passphrase is to you the better, remember, it is very unlikely that the hacker knows you personally so they will be trying phrases that are used commonly. Some good examples would be, an inside joke that only you and a few friends or family share, unique memorable advice that someone has told you, or just any sentence unique to you, and one that you will never forget.
Substitute some letters with numbers and symbols but only if they make sense to you. You do not have to worry about being too unique with substitution since there is more letters for you to substitute. For example, use “3” instead of “e” or “!” instead of “i” or “$” instead of “s”. Keep in mind that the point of a passphrase is to remember it as well, so keep it simple.
Since it has never been more important to be safe and secure on the internet, a proper passphrase is ideal over a password, not only for safety but also convenience. Following the proper steps to protect your internet safety has never been this crucial.
Need help securing your accounts or finding a way to securely store passwords? Contact us for help!