How to make a strong password you can remember

Passphrases beat complicated passwords

Tr0ub4dor! is hard to remember and easier to crack than maple-canoe-orbit-guitar. Long is strong.

Tips

• At least 14 characters, or four or more random words.
• Random words, not a quote, lyric or family names.
• Need a number or symbol? Add one: maple-canoe-orbit-guitar-7.
• A different password for every important account. A password manager makes this easy.

Avoid

• Names, birthdays, pets, addresses and sports teams
• Password1!, Calgary2026, and keyboard patterns like qwerty123
• Small tweaks to old passwords, like Summer2025 → Summer2026

Even better: passkeys

Many sites (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal) now offer passkeys, which sign you in with your fingerprint, face or phone instead of a password. They can't be phished. Turn them on wherever they're offered.