--- title: Benefits of Using Pass Phrases description: "Long, complicated passwords are not very \"human friendly\". But there is a better way to create long, strong, memorable passwords." image: https://blog.theamegroup.com/hubfs/benefits%20of%20Using%20passphrases.jpg --- [![Logo The AME Group](https://blog.theamegroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AMEGroup_Basic_Logos-01-1.png?width=600&height=237&name=AMEGroup_Basic_Logos-01-1.png "Logo The AME Group")](https://www.theamegroup.com/) Open main menu Close main menu - [Contact Us](https://www.theamegroup.com/contact/) [password strength](https://blog.theamegroup.com/tag/password-strength) [passphrase](https://blog.theamegroup.com/tag/passphrase) [password management](https://blog.theamegroup.com/tag/password-management) [passwords](https://blog.theamegroup.com/tag/passwords) # Benefits of Using Pass Phrases [Andrew McIntosh](https://blog.theamegroup.com/author/andrew-mcintosh) [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.theamegroup.com/benefits-of-using-pass-phrases) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.theamegroup.com/benefits-of-using-pass-phrases) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.theamegroup.com/benefits-of-using-pass-phrases) ## Introduction In this article we are going to examine the benefits of using a passphrase instead of a password on your most important accounts: - Why passwords are inherently flawed - Why pass phrases are better - How to create a killer pass phrase ## Why Passwords Are Inherently Flawed Pop quiz: which of these three passwords is best? 1. Golfer27 2. G01f3R27! 3. I wish I was better at golf. In a recent LinkedIn poll (found [here](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mcintosh-andrew_cyberdefense-cyberawareness-technology-activity-6897597301057994752-e2fe?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web)) about half of respondents chose option 2. Why? Likely they reasoned that this password appeared to be the most complex. It has a mix of letters and numbers, both uppercase and lowercase, as well as symbols. Therefore, it must be the most secure. Right? Well... there are two major factors being overlooked. First, that password is only 9 characters long. Second (and perhaps more importantly) it's very difficult for a human being to remember. That second point is the main crux of this article. Long, complicated passwords are not very "human friendly" and are therefore difficult for us to remember. This leads to a few problems: 1. We tend to forget these passwords, which leads to getting locked out of our accounts. 2. If we DO manage to remember them, we will keep it very similar the next time we are prompted to change it. So "G01f3R27!" becomes "G01f3R28!", then "G01f3R29!" and so on. Lastly (and this is something most people don't realize) what *appears *complicated to the human eye, is relatively *easy *for a computer to guess. According to [this website](https://www.passwordmonster.com/) the password "G01f3R27!" could be cracked by a computer in only 25 minutes! Yikes! 😱 Which leads us to the next point of the article: ## Why Pass Phrases Are Better A pass phrase, such as "I wish I was better at golf." has several benefits: 1. As a human, this is **much **easier to remember. 2. Even though it doesn't *look *very complicated, it still has the features we need: uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols (in the form of spaces and a period at the end), and last but not least: 3. Length. This passphrase, including the spaces and punctuation, has a total of 28 characters. Let's run this pass phrase through [the same website](https://www.passwordmonster.com/) and see how long it would take to crack this one: ### 17 Trillion Years You see, with each additional character added to your password, it takes **exponentially** more time for a computer to crack it. That, in addition to their easy-to-remember nature, make pass phrases *much *more effective. ## How to Create a Killer Passphrase There are a few methods I can suggest for coming up with a good pass phrase: 1. A few random words strung together (hint: it's easier to remember than you might think) 2. Your personal opinion on a topic 3. A favorite movie quote or song lyric **Let's consider the first method**: random words strung together. For this example, please refer to the comic below. [![Comic style picture demonstrating that pass phrases are easier to remember, and much stronger, than passwords.](https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQHZejjKkvPZmQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1648654607668?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=HSWP6AEk1Jew-v-L5cKBJwVsVt68qoB9_t_9TD4wQlA)](https://xkcd.com/936/) Notice the point at the end, about how difficult it is to remember: *You've already memorized it! *Close your eyes and I bet you can repeat it out loud right now. I first saw this comic over a year ago and I can *still *remember "correct horse battery staple" without a problem, especially when I picture it as illustrated above! That said, do NOT use "correct horse battery staple" because this is a well known comic on the internet, it only serves as an example 🤓 But you can easily use something *like *this that you've come up with on your own. **Now for the second method**: your personal opinion on a topic. Take anything you feel passionate about and put it into a sentence. A good example would be something along these lines: "I really hate vinegar based barbecue sauce!" Chances are good that you will feel the same way about vinegar based BBQ sauce tomorrow, and for the rest of your life. The chances of forgetting this passphrase are pretty small, right? As easy as it is for you to remember, this is still a VERY strong password. 43 characters, uppercase and lowercase, and special symbols (spaces and an exclamation point!) **Our third method **would involve using your favorite song or movie to form the basis of a pass phrase. In my opinion (and I believe this has been confirmed as a scientific fact) [The Princess Bride](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/) is the greatest movie of all time. With that said, let's consider one of it's most famous lines: "Have fun storming the castle!" Here we have 29 characters, all the needed complexity, and an estimated cracking time of... 228 million years (which I *think* should suffice). I do have one caution, though, when using movie quotes or lyrics from your favorite song: these are famous lines that others know about and could easily guess, *especially* if you openly tell people what your favorite movie is. So we'll need to mix it up a bit. Perhaps something like this: "Have fun storming the castle, **Jerry**!" or, "Have fun storming the **7-11**!" All it takes is a small tweak to make it much harder for a computer to crack, or a human to guess. ## Conclusion Using a pass *phrase* instead of a password has many advantages: 1. They are easy to remember 2. They are more secure because of their length 3. They are equally as complex, without even trying! So give it a shot... try putting pass phrases into use for your most important accounts - you'll be happy you did! ![Andrew McIntosh](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/e4e7301a62f8154da82699af0ee380c0) #### Andrew McIntosh Follow me on my website Follow me on LinkedIn My name is Andrew McIntosh. I'm a 50/50 blend of technology enthusiast and entrepreneur. I've been in IT for over 20 years, built a business from scratch, grew it over a period of 15 years and sold it. I now enjoy helping others grow and secure their business as a Technology Advisor. Feel free to follow me on LinkedIn and send a message with any comments or questions. 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