Pass Phrases instead of Passwords?

09 March 2018

Q. Is it better to use a pass phrase rather than a password?

A. Almost certainly, yes. For example, the passphrase 'munster rugby success 2018' would take 1,853 centuries to crack according to the site www.useapassphrase.com. I know some of you may say that it could take that long for Munster to achieve success! Passwords tend to be hard to remember and easy to crack. Passphrases are easier to remember and harder to crack.

Remember not to share passphrases across different services and sites and to write your passphrases down somewhere or put them in a password manager software application, such as 1Password, LastPass or KeePass. If you have a strong passphrase and restrict it to one site or service, then you don't need to worry about changing it every few months. Only change it if you have been hacked.