But how could a normal person remember the hundreds or even thousands of individual passwords associated with each account they've ever created? The short answer is: they can't. The best passwords are long, random or pseudo-random combinations of every possible character allowed, with a different password for each unique use.

At this point, almost every variation of words and phrases strung together with a few numbers or substitutions is simply too easy for a password cracking tool to make its way through, and the shorter the password, the easier. Unfortunately, 'Pa$$w0rd!' isn't secure in any meaningful way, either. Or perhaps a user offers up just enough variation on the classic password selection to get past the minimal rules of the service.

Yet no matter how many times it is said, it seems like a week doesn't go by where a high-profile hacking story hits the news, revealing that users of the service in question more often than not had such secure passwords as '12345' or 'password' as the only wall of protection on their account. Maintaining complex, unique passwords for each site and service you use is among the most common pieces of advice that security professionals provide to the public every year.

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