How to Create a Strong Password in 7 Easy Steps

If you’re wondering how to create a password that truly protects your personal and business data, you’re in the right place. This guide will walk you through examples of strong passwords and share simple but effective tips to help you safeguard your accounts.

Whether you’re looking for strong password examples for everyday use, need strong password ideas for your business accounts, or want to understand why using numbers and symbols in strong password examples makes such a difference, we’ve got you covered. By following these seven easy steps, you’ll not only improve your online security but also reduce the risk of data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Strong password examples you can use and adapt

• Why using a mix of characters, numbers, and symbols matters

• How to create password examples that are easy to remember but hard to crack

• Practical strategies to keep your login credentials safe from hackers

A study revealed that 31% of organizations experienced network outages or downtime due to cyber incidents, with weak password policies often contributing to these breaches. In 2025, as cyber threats continue to evolve, having a robust password is more essential than ever to protect your personal and business data.

In this blog, we’ll cover 7 practical steps to help you create strong passwords and defend your accounts from hackers.

What Is a Strong Password?

A strong password is not just a random combination of characters. It’s a carefully constructed key that should be difficult for both humans and machines to crack. What makes a strong password is the use of randomness, length, and variety. Many users still use their names, birthdates, or even simple words, making their passwords easily guessable. A secure password avoids predictability and combines letters, numbers, and symbols to create something that's hard to decipher.

7 Steps To Create a Strong Password

Creating a strong password doesn’t have to be complicated. By following these 7 simple steps, you can build a secure password that will protect your personal and business data from unauthorized access.

Let’s dive into the key practices for ensuring your passwords are up to today’s cybersecurity standards:

Make It 12 Characters or Longer

Length is one of the most important factors when you create a strong password. A password should be at least 12 characters long. The longer your password, the more difficult it is for brute force attacks to succeed. Short passwords, even if they include special characters, are vulnerable. So, aim for 12 characters or more to ensure you’re keeping your accounts safe.

Use a Combination of Letters, Numbers and Symbols

A strong password uses a variety of characters. Make sure to include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols like @, #, or %. Following the "8-4 Rule" (using at least eight characters and one symbol from each of the four categories) ensures complexity, making your password harder to crack. This mix is key when you want to create secure passwords.

Do Not Use Personal Data

Avoid using any personal information, like your name, birthdate, or even your pet’s name, in your passwords. Hackers often rely on social engineering tactics to guess passwords by exploiting personal information found on social media. Including personal data might make a password easier to remember, but it also makes it easier to hack. The fewer obvious clues you give, the safer you are.

Combine Unrelated Words

Merging random, unrelated words into a strong password enhances its security. This technique, often called the “passphrase method,” creates a memorable yet hard-to-guess password. For instance, a password like “SunsetBreeze88Horse” is far more secure than something predictable like “Password123.” When you combine unrelated terms, you increase randomness, which is the foundation of a secure password.

Avoid Words As They Are In the Dictionary

Dictionary attacks are a common technique hackers use to crack weak passwords by systematically guessing common words. A password made from standard dictionary words is highly vulnerable. Instead of “Bookworm123,” consider altering the word or mixing it with numbers and symbols, such as “B00kw0rm@123.” This adds complexity while keeping it memorable.

Change Your Password Regularly

Even if you've created a strong password, you need to update it regularly. Cyber threats evolve, and while one password may be secure today, it might not be tomorrow. Regularly changing your passwords, especially for critical accounts, can prevent unauthorized access. This is a basic yet essential practice for anyone managing multiple online accounts.

Use a Password Manager

A password manager is one of the best tools available when it comes to creating secure passwords. These tools generate and store complex, unique passwords for all your accounts, ensuring you never have to rely on the same one twice. With features like encryption and autofill, they make managing dozens of strong passwords a breeze. Popular options in 2024 include Bitwarden, 1Password, and Keeper, all of which offer secure and easy-to-use platforms.

How to Easily Spot a Weak Password?

Weak passwords are often short, predictable, and based on personal information. They tend to use consecutive characters like "123456" or rely on personal details such as "JohnDoe1990." If a password contains your name, birthday, or common phrases like “password” or “letmein,” it’s likely weak and prone to hacking attempts.

Reusing the same password for multiple accounts is another red flag that compromises security.

What Is an Example of a Strong Password?

Strong password examples follow the guidelines we’ve discussed. A good example is “$7H@n3#Waterfall,” which uses 12+ characters, includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and is entirely random.

Another would be the passphrase "Mountain*Breeze99+Tree," which combines unrelated terms and symbols.

Both of these examples are hard to guess, memorable, and meet the complexity requirements of most websites and services.

Ways To Protect Your Passwords Online

Even a strong password needs extra layers of protection. To fully secure your accounts, follow these key steps:

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds another layer of security beyond your password.
• Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Regularly check for unusual logins or actions.
• Use a Password Manager: It helps you create strong passwords and secures them across devices.
• Avoid Phishing Scams: Stay alert to phishing attempts disguised as legitimate messages. Learn more in this phishing trends article.

Strengthen Your Password Security Using Keepnet’s Comprehensive Awareness Solutions

Even the best strong password examples won’t fully protect your accounts if your team doesn’t understand why and how to use them. Many breaches still happen because users recycle simple password examples like birthdays or “123456,” leaving critical systems vulnerable. That’s why building a culture of secure password practices is just as important as creating strong credentials.

Cybercriminals are constantly improving their tactics, and the best way to protect your business is through regular security awareness training. Keepnet provides tailored training solutions that teach your employees how to recognize threats, create secure passwords, and defend against attacks like phishing, ransomware, and social engineering.

Keepnet’s security awareness training includes hands-on phishing simulations (email, voice, SMS, QR code, MFA simulation, etc.), helping employees learn to spot and stop attacks before they happen. From creating strong passwords to handling complex threats, the training is customized to your company’s needs, ensuring targeted education based on employee behavior.

With Keepnet’s Human Risk Management Platform, your organization gains more than just training—it gets practical tools to help employees recognize and apply examples of strong passwords in real-world scenarios. Our awareness modules walk users through how to create a password that’s both memorable and resistant to attacks, while also sharing strong password ideas and tips for avoiding common mistakes.

From teaching teams why adding numbers, uppercase letters, and symbols—as seen in strong password examples with numbers—dramatically increases security, to showing them how to avoid predictable patterns, Keepnet equips your workforce with the skills they need. The result is a measurable reduction in risk from weak credentials and a stronger line of defense against unauthorized access.

By combining education with hands-on phishing simulations and compliance-focused reporting, Keepnet ensures that employees don’t just learn about strong password examples—they put them into practice daily.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on July 29, 2025.