Two years ago, I discovered an ingenious trick to solve my constant problem of memorizing passwords, which I want to share with all of you in this short blog. 🎉
Going back two years, tired of forgetting my passwords, I decided to create a security pattern. At the time, I didn't give it much thought and simply mixed parts of my name, my favorite number, and some special characters. And voilà💡! I had my personalized password. But that wasn't all. Over time, my security pattern evolved and improved to become even more powerful. And now, I am here to share all my secrets with you. 🤫💪
I am conscious of the existence of more robust security protocols, including the implementation of two-factor authentication. Do you know how it works? First, you enter your password and then you get a code on your smartphone📱🔐. Then you have to enter that code to be able to access the site. There are also more modern systems, such as facial recognition or fingerprints🙌🔒.
The challenge lies in the fact that these methods are highly advanced, and their implementation is not yet widespread across all websites. This is where my security pattern shines✨. And the best part is that it's super simple to use. Alright, let me break it down for you in a way that sticks, so you'll always remember how to use it when you're coming up with your passwords😎.
It is an algorithm that uses certain personal data such as name, year of birth, or favorite color. I'll give you an example to help you understand it better. Most sites require a password of at least 8 characters that includes a number and a special character, such as (). From this rule, all you have to do is to generate a password that you don't repeat on different websites, and with that, you will get a much higher level of security 🔒!
Here is a practical example:
😊 Name: John
🌈 Favorite color: Blue (we'll take the vowels AU)
🐾 Pet name: Felix (we'll take the consonants FLX)
🎂 Year of birth: 1989
Using this data and adding two random special characters, such as: "!" you will get your security pattern🪄. An example could be John!AUFLX89, 89AUJohnFLX*!, FLX89AU*!John, and so on.
Besides that, if you add a zero, either at the beginning or at the end you can have a count of passwords for different accounts on the same website like Gmail, Facebook, etc🔄.
What do you think? It is an easy-to-remember method and it assures you better protection for your online accounts. Besides that, I have a surprise for you! I've recently created a Chrome extension that allows you to have custom patterns to protect your accounts. You should definitely check it out😉! KeyCrypt Chrome Extension
If you're curious about checking out the code or learning how I built this amazing extension, I've got you covered, go and check out my repository on GitHub. KeyCrypt Github
Feel free to explore and provide any feedback you may have.
Top comments (4)
Enthusiastic as this advice is, unfortunately it's not great: lifehacker.com/password-formulas-d...
Can I suggest accepting the standard advice, from the cyber security services of many governments, to use a password manager, create a long master password phrase and back it up regularly. If this seems like too much effort or too complicated (perhaps some disability prevents easy use of such a tool), then at least use the password manager built in to every browser. This prevents all common phishing attacks as it removes the human from the loop. Machines are much less vulnerable to phishing!
Sr Phil thanks for let your comment you're right I'll working on my extension to improve it or make something different. 👌
Glad I didn't spoil your enthusiasm, thank you for understanding 🙏
From your Github profile you mention being interested in learning more about information security as a developer, this can only be a Good Thing! Apart from the #security tagged content here, there are many excellent starting points for developers, in particular the OWASP Foundation, and SANS Institute websites that lead to many good free online resources, for example the Cybersecurity 101 Guide that provides a whirlwind tour on single page... keep having fun, keep learning 😉
Thank you Sr