It’s has been a long while since I took some hacking classes for CPE. It was interesting to crack passwords by throwing the dictionary at it. But times have changed and symbols are now in play. Because it is now more important than ever to come up with intricate passwords. A hacker with a fast computer can crack a four-number code in a tenth of a second.
An eight-number code takes a bit longer to break, but still under two minutes. However, change that eight-number code to letters, numbers and punctuation marks, and a hacker will need 210 years. For a 12-character code like that, 17 million years.
While making a code harder to break makes it tougher to remember, and you don’t have 210 years to spare when you’re trying to check your balance
or log on to an Internet account. One trick is to come up with a phrase you won’t forget and use just the first letter of each word with punctuation and numbers sprinkled in. But I use unusual words that are not in most lexicons such as quetzalcoatl. Or better yet use someones e-mail the @ symbol always throws people.