No getting around it, passwords are just a part of computing. The Internet exploded about 15 years ago, and every important website or app has a password requirement. So what can you do to stay secure without complicating and already complicated issue.
Back in the day, a password was usually your initials or the first few letters of your last name. It only applied to what you were doing in a particular building or data center. Security issues were always important but a breach was uncommon. When an employee left the employer someone would simply change that account with a new password and life continued.
One of my fellow data center buddies, Bob Smyth, knew that using his last name as a password would not be very secure so he changed his name to "Bob Smy3th". I ask how to pronounce that. He said "Smyth, the 3 is silent".
So what will work within the current technology, yet keep it simple.
In my cyber travels I have stumbled upon countless "Log in's" and "Sign in's", each with different rules and limitation.
Like:
Sorry, You must use at least 6 characters for a password
Sorry, You must have at least 8 characters with numbers and letters.
Sorry, You cannot start your password with a 0 (zero).
Sorry, You cannot have repeating letters or numbers in your password.
Sorry, Your PIN (personal identification number) can only be 4 numbers.
Never use a password that can be found in a dictionary.
Never use a password referencing a family member or pet.
Never use a birth date as a password.
Never write down your password.
All of these rules are attempting to thwart another human from easily guessing your password, not to mention software programs that can capture key stokes as you enter an ID and password.
