Password Security

A strong password is crucial to the security of both you and your company. So what makes a strong password?
Let’s take a look at this password and find out what its strengths and weakness are:

Pineapple$Dancing@Midnight

What makes this password strong?

• Length: 26 characters — longer passwords are significantly harder to crack.

• Mixed case: Upper and lowercase letters (P, D, M vs. other lowercase).

• Special characters: $ and @ add complexity.

• Uncommon combination: The phrase isn’t a typical dictionary phrase or reused password pattern.

What could make it weak?

• If you’ve used this password somewhere public or if it’s tied to a common phrase you’ve posted, it could be at slight risk through social engineering.

Can it be an issue that it has English words?

It can be a slight weakness that the components are English words, but only if:

1. The password is short

2. The words form a common phrase (like LetMeIn123!)

This is not a big issue because

1. Length and character variety matter more than whether words are English.

2. Pineapple$Dancing@Midnight is not a common phrase.

3. Special characters ($, @) break up predictable patterns.

4. It would take trillions of years to brute-force this with today's tech.

To be even safer (paranoia mode):

If you’re using the password for something sensitive, you can make it even stronger by adding a number or making one word less predictable (e.g., P1neapple$Dancing@Midn1ght).

If you want to reduce even the possibility of a smart dictionary attack, change one or two letters in unexpected ways:

• Pine4pple$Danc1ng@Midnite

Getting a completely randomized password and a password manager to remember it for you is even more secure because:

1. Random = no patterns
   Attackers can't guess it using dictionaries, common phrases, or social engineering.

2. Long + complex = brute-force resistant
   A 20+ character random password like u8@kT7&vLzQ1m#eF2pNw is extremely hard to crack.

3. Password managers eliminate human error
   You don’t have to remember or reuse anything.

Should you do this for everything?

YES for:

• Banking

• Email

• Cloud storage
  

OK to use a memorable strong passphrase for:

• Low-risk logins (e.g., hobby forums)

• Accounts you use frequently and need to type manually

Best practice:

• Use a password manager
  We provide PasswordBoss, a secure, business-grade password manager powered by CyberFox. It helps you create and store strong, unique passwords for every account — so your team doesn’t have to remember or reuse anything. We manage setup, security policies, and onboarding for you.

• Generate unique, random passwords for each site.

• Only memorize your password manager’s master password