Tips to Create a Windows Password that Can't Be Hacked

Whether your computer connects to a home network or office network, the type of password you choose determines the ability for a hacker to crack your password. Some people have a habit of using family, friends and pet names for their password. Using these values for your password, however, increases the chance that it can be guessed or cracked. Here are some tips when creating a password for a computer, bank account or any other profile that contains personal, critical information.

Use Numbers, Letters and Special Characters

Even if you don't use special characters, at least use a combination of letters and numbers. For increased security, use upper and lower case letters. Binary translation of lower and upper case characters are different. This means a hacker needs more "guesses" when trying to crack your password. Only using lower case letters is much more easily guessed than a character password with upper and lower case letters.

Although the passwords aren't completely secure, using letters and numbers is better than using only letters. Most home and office users incorporate letters and numbers. This type of password is generally sufficient for a small network that does not need extensive security.

Special characters are the extended characters that don't include numbers or letters. These characters increase the protection of your computer and decrease the ability for hackers to guess the password. Adding just one special character can greatly increase the improvement of your password's security. A combination of letters, numbers and special characters is the best choice for a password in an environment where you need the best security such as an online banking password.

Length of the Security Password

Windows 7 lets you create a password with any length. Network administrators can set password length requirements in the Windows domain server group policies. The length of the password increases the protection of your computer.

A password should be at least eight characters. Some network administrators prefer a user password set at ten characters. For online accounts that have sensitive information such as a banking or medical account, use a password that is somewhere between eight and twelve characters. Hackers can run programs on your password that uses each combination of numbers, letters and special characters. The longer password takes much longer to crack, so you improve the safety of the password.

Protect your password and use a combination of numbers and letters along with a password with a longer length. This type of password protection protects your data and avoids being hacked, which can lead to identity theft and data loss.