Passwords that actually hold up: a beginner's guide

A good password is not your birthday or your cat's name. It's long, unique, and impossible to guess. The core idea: the longer it is, the stronger it is, even if it stays easy for you to remember.

The passphrase, your secret weapon

Instead of one word, use a whole phrase only you understand: four or five words strung together, a bit absurd, easy to picture. It's far harder to crack than a short word with weird symbols, and far easier to type.

The golden rule: a different password for every important account. If one site gets hacked, the others stay safe. Reusing the same one everywhere is like handing out a key that opens all your doors.

A manager to remember them all for you

Nobody can memorise thirty passphrases. A password manager stores them encrypted and fills them in automatically. You only remember one very strong master password, and the rest follows.