LifeSpy contributor, Mark, posted this here almost a year ago. He cites using 1337 or LEET (substituting numbers for letters, and vice versa) to further “encrypt” your password.

However, a year from that post, many hackers/crackers have developed better ways for them to crack passwords. And it’s harder for us users to be able to remember passwords if we have something like “a@E45&_d4W51.” Jot it down and you’ve just made yourself more vulnerable.

Many offices have “beefed” up their security protocols. Something like putting conditions to password complexity (mixed letter cases, at least one numeric character, expiration after 60 days, lockouts…). But the more complex passwords are, the more liable end-users are to forget them. Yeah, and have you ever dealt with those snotty network admins?

But for personal use, it’s usually user-prerogative on how complex our passwords will be. Here are some of my own personal tips on formulating a strong enough password without being too complex for your memory:

• Use a minimum of 8 characters – While most services only demand a minimum of 6, 6 is now too easy for hackers to crack wide open.
• Use alternate cases – Use a mix of uppercase letters and lowercase ones. Like “password” can become “pASsWoRD”
• Mix in some numeric characters – “pASs8WoRD0″
• Mix in a bit of leet – Substitute letters with similar looking numbers 5 for S, 4 for A. So our password becomes “p4558WoRD0″
• Base your keyword on a hard-to-know detail – My example is actually a bad one given that “password” is a very common one and is dictionary-based. Why not use a personal details like the pet name your mother used to call you?
• Change passwords at least once every 2 months
• Use a password manager – A lot of freeware can do this for you. There’s AI Roboform. I personally use Access Manager which has a password generator (which produces tough to crack passwords) that can be based on a simple, easy-to-remember keyword.
• Avoid using any of the top 10 most common passwords.