The Password Problem

Passwords are annoying.
They need to be long.
They need to be complex.
You can’t reuse them.
And then just when you memorize one… it's time to change it again.

So why all the drama? Why can’t SecretPassword!123 just be good enough?

Let’s break it down.

What a Password Actually Does

A password’s only job is this: keep other people out.

Without one, anyone could post on your Instagram, read your email, order $800 worth of scented candles to your house, or transfer money out of your bank account.

And because of how much is now online — your job, your identity, your money — passwords became a prime target.

The Password Hunters

People who want your password will stop at nothing. Literally nothing.

Some sift through trash looking for notes or old paperwork. Others scrape your social media to find clues. Dog names. Birth years. Favorite sports teams. Kids' initials. Anything personal enough to make it into your password.

If a person can do it, software can do it faster.
Programs called brute-force tools combine common words, patterns, and personal info at lightning speed — guessing thousands of combinations per second.

Complexity = Safety

Here’s why the rules exist:

• A 1-character, lower-case password? Just 26 options.

• Add upper-case, numbers, and symbols? Now it’s 67 options.

• Make it 2 characters? That’s 4,489 combinations.

• 8 characters? Now we’re talking over 400 trillion possibilities.

The longer and more complex the password, the harder it is to guess — not just for people, but for software too.

But Who Can Remember All That?

You’re not supposed to.
That’s what password managers are for.

They store all your login info behind one master password. That means you can have a different, ultra-strong password for every account — without having to remember any of them.

Bonus: they also generate random, super-secure passwords that have nothing to do with your birthday, dog, or favorite number.

Bottom Line

✅ Use strong, unique passwords
✅ Don’t reuse the same one everywhere
✅ Use a password manager to keep it sane

Passwords are your first line of defense. They don’t need to be easy to remember — they need to be hard to crack.

Stay safe out there.

Have questions about staying secure or want to suggest a topic for a future newsletter? I’d love to hear from you. Email me: [email protected]

If you found this helpful, please share it with friends, coworkers, or anyone who might need a little digital safety boost.

New readers can subscribe and access past issues at:
👉 https://newsletter.thecybersafety.company

Stay safe,
Peter Oram
Chief Cyber Safety Officer