10 Password Special Characters Best Practices

Passwords are the first line of defense against cyber threats. As such, it is important to create strong passwords that are difficult to guess. One way to do this is to use special characters in your passwords. Special characters can add an extra layer of security to your passwords, making them harder to crack.

In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for using special characters in your passwords. We will also provide some tips on how to remember your passwords and keep them secure.

1. Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters

Using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters makes it harder for hackers to guess your password. This is because most passwords are case sensitive, meaning that the same letter typed in different cases will be seen as two separate characters. For example, if you type “A” and “a”, they will be seen as two different characters.

This means that using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters can significantly increase the number of possible combinations for your password, making it much more difficult for hackers to guess. So make sure to use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters when creating your passwords!

2. Include numbers, symbols, spaces in your password

Numbers, symbols, and spaces make your password more difficult to guess. For example, if you use a common word as your password, it’s much easier for someone to guess than if you include numbers, symbols, and spaces in the mix. This makes it harder for hackers to crack your password.

Also, using special characters can help increase the length of your password without making it too hard to remember. For instance, instead of using “password” as your password, you could use “p@ssw0rd!” which is longer and includes special characters.

Finally, including special characters in your passwords helps protect against brute force attacks, where hackers try every possible combination of letters, numbers, and symbols until they find the right one. By adding special characters to your password, you’re making it even harder for them to guess.

3. Create a unique acronym

Creating a unique acronym helps you remember your password more easily. It also makes it harder for hackers to guess your password, as they won’t be able to figure out the meaning of your acronym. For example, if you create an acronym like “MyF@v0riteC@t” (which stands for My Favorite Cat), then it will be much harder for someone to guess than a simple word or phrase.

Additionally, using special characters in passwords adds another layer of security. By adding symbols and numbers into your password, you make it even harder for hackers to crack. So, when creating a new password, try to come up with a unique acronym that includes at least one symbol or number.

4. Substitute numbers for letters

When hackers use brute force attacks to guess passwords, they often start with common words and phrases. By substituting numbers for letters in your password, you make it much harder for them to guess correctly. For example, instead of using the word “password,” try using something like “p@ssw0rd” or “P4$$w0rd.” This makes it more difficult for a hacker to guess your password because they would have to know which letters were substituted for numbers.

5. Add other keyboard characters

Using other keyboard characters, such as the tilde (~), asterisk (*), and caret (^) can help make your passwords more secure. These characters are not commonly used in everyday language, so they add an extra layer of complexity to your password that makes it harder for hackers to guess. Additionally, these characters often require a shift key or special character key to be pressed, which adds another level of difficulty for anyone trying to crack your password.

6. Avoid using common substitutions

When hackers are trying to guess your password, they often use a technique called “dictionary attack” which involves substituting common characters for letters in words. For example, they might replace the letter “a” with “@”, or the letter “o” with “0”.

By avoiding these common substitutions, you make it much harder for hackers to guess your password. Instead of using predictable substitutions, try mixing up upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters in unexpected ways.

7. Don’t use these passwords

Using passwords that contain special characters can make them more difficult to guess, but they also increase the risk of someone guessing your password. Special characters are often used in dictionary attacks, which means a hacker could use a list of common words and phrases with special characters added on to try and crack your password.

It’s best to avoid using any kind of predictable pattern when creating passwords, such as adding a number or symbol at the end of every word. Instead, create unique passwords for each account you have by combining random words, numbers, and symbols.

8. Make sure it’s hard to guess

If your password is too easy to guess, it can be easily cracked by hackers.

To make sure your password is hard to guess, use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using common words or phrases that could be guessed easily. Also, avoid using personal information such as birthdays, names, addresses, etc.

Finally, make sure you change your passwords regularly. This will help ensure that even if someone does manage to guess your password, they won’t have access for long.

9. Never tell anyone your password

Your password is the key to your online accounts, and if someone else knows it, they can access all of your personal information.

It’s also important to use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters when creating a strong password. This makes it harder for hackers to guess or crack your password. Additionally, you should never reuse passwords across multiple accounts. Each account should have its own unique password that only you know.

10. Change your passwords regularly

When you use the same password for a long period of time, it increases the chances that someone will be able to guess or crack your password. This is especially true if you’re using common words and phrases as passwords. By changing your passwords regularly, you can reduce the risk of someone guessing or cracking your password.

It’s also important to make sure that you’re using strong passwords with special characters. Special characters add an extra layer of security to your passwords by making them harder to guess or crack. Make sure to include at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character in each of your passwords.