Linked Questions

1277 votes
22 answers
281k views

XKCD #936: Short complex password, or long dictionary passphrase?

How accurate is this XKCD comic from August 10, 2011? I've always been an advocate of long rather than complex passwords, but most security people (at least the ones that I've talked to) are against ...
872 votes
14 answers
170k views

What technical reasons are there to have low maximum password lengths?

I have always wondered why so many websites have very firm restrictions on password length (exactly 8 characters, up to 8 characters, etc). These tend to be banks or other sites where I actually care ...
  • 8,031
472 votes
13 answers
106k views

Are passwords stored in memory safe?

I just realized that, in any language, when you save a password in a variable, it is stored as plain text in the memory. I think the OS does its job and forbids processes from accessing each other's ...
121 votes
11 answers
25k views

Password rules: Should I disallow "leetspeak" dictionary passwords like XKCD's Tr0ub4dor&3

TLDR: We already require two-factor authentication for some users. I'm hashing, salting, and doing things to encourage long passphrases. I'm not interested in the merits of password complexity rules ...
  • 1,593
43 votes
10 answers
8k views

What type of pattern should I use for my passwords?

I have a lot of accounts and until some time ago I used an universal password for all of them. Right now I have a different password for every account depending on the website name that I am logging ...
  • 591
41 votes
14 answers
18k views

How can I make a strong password that's easy to remember? Is the 4 Word method safe? [duplicate]

I have heard of the method of using 4 random dictionary words, it gives you lots of characters and is easy to remember. But that seems to be open to dictionary attacks, especially if the attacker has ...
36 votes
8 answers
12k views

Why use random characters in passwords?

I've seen some similar questions but maybe not exactly what I'm asking. Also I can't say that I've followed all the technical jargon in previous posts and am really after more of an intuitive ...
7 votes
7 answers
31k views

How to choose a good (and easy to use) WiFi password?

Over the last few months I have had to enter WiFi passwords into smart phones, TVs, printers, etc. None of these have real keyboard and they make it hard to enter long passwords or passwords that ...
5 votes
8 answers
5k views

How should I securely generate random passwords when importing new users?

I need to generate random passwords when importing new users from an external source. I'm currently doing it by taking a random assortment of 8 lowercase/uppercase letters, and numbers. I am also ...
  • 235
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Can using emojis make someone's password safer?

I was just thinking about this the other day, after reading about making safe passwords, you have a few options: The first would be, adding numbers, or something other than just a word Password15068 ...
5 votes
4 answers
1k views

What are possible methods for calculating password entropy?

I noticed there are tons of questions and answers about password entropy on this forum, some even suggesting formulas for calculating it. None did answer my exact question. What are possible or ...
  • 6,337
4 votes
4 answers
4k views

password generating algorithm

I read the question about the relevancy of the xkcd password creation algorithm. Would it be more secure if you used a string of common words with a function that only you knew that would rearrange ...
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2 votes
2 answers
4k views

How long would it take a single Processor with the AES-NI Instruction Set to bruteforce an AES Key?

I know that it seems like a stupid question - since it's note feasable to break AES without a quantum computer but I'm curious anyway. I read on wikipedia that the best known attack on AES-128 takes ...
  • 261
2 votes
2 answers
861 views

Is it really "Time to add a word" if there are no tools to crack passphrases of 3 words and up?

It's "time to add a word" says Arnold Reinhold, the creator of Diceware, in his blog (3/2014). He advices to use 6 word sentences (or 5 words with one extra character chosen and placed at random) from ...
  • 525
0 votes
1 answer
301 views

Is Entropy all that matters in a Password? [duplicate]

My question is, is it more reliable having a password that is composed by words like FootballPractice more secure than using a password that has only 2 or 3 bits less, for example FootbalPractic , my ...
  • 105

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