Despite endless warnings from security experts, ‘123456’ and ‘password’ remain among the most commonly used passwords globally. Weak passwords are an open invitation to hackers, making account breaches a matter of when, not if. So, what actually constitutes a strong password in 2025?
The golden rule of modern password security is length over complexity. While special characters and numbers are helpful, a 16-character password consisting entirely of lowercase letters is significantly harder for a computer to crack than an 8-character password with a mix of symbols. Passphrases—combinations of random words—are often recommended as they are long but relatively easy for humans to remember.
However, expecting anyone to memorize unique, long passwords for dozens of accounts is unrealistic. This is where password managers come in. A good password manager securely stores all your credentials and can automatically generate complex, unique passwords for every new account you create.
If you need to create a secure password quickly and don’t have your password manager handy, using a trusted, local password generator is your best bet. Just ensure the tool generates the password locally in your browser, rather than requesting it from a remote server where it could be logged.