Create a strong password
Using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters you can make your password more robust and increase your online security.
If you need help creating a strong password, use a free online password generator such as Privacy Canada's Strong Password Generator.
Create a strong passphrase
A passphrase is recommended over a password. A passphrase is like a password but longer and made up of four or more words. It's easier to remember as a sentence or a phrase, like "SunnyDayAtTheBeach" instead of something short and complicated like "Xy7$2k!". More examples of passphrases are below:
- A personal memory: IceCreamOnTheBeach
- Your favorite song lyrics: GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad
- Random words: RedFenceDragonJump
If you need help creating a strong passphrase, use a free online passphrase generator such as: Use a Passphrase.
Use a Password Manager
A password manager is a tool designed to help you store, generate, and manage your passwords much easier.
If you have multiple accounts, the temptation is to create a simple a password and use this same password for every account. This is a dangerous practice as it exposes some to accessing all of your accounts protected by that one simple password. The best practice is to have a unique strong password for each of your accounts.
A password manager will remember your passwords for you and quickly generates new, strong passwords so you'll never have to reuse any previous passwords. The only password you will need to remember is your master password to the password manager itself.
If you plan to use your passwords across multiple devices, browser such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer all have available built-in password managers. You may also want to consider these password managers: