A strong password resists guessing and cracking long enough to protect your account. In practice that means length, randomness, and uniqueness—the same password on ten sites fails if any one site leaks it.
What makes a password weak
- Reuse — one breach exposes every account that shares the password.
- Short length — eight characters with mixed case are far easier to brute-force than sixteen random ones.
- Dictionary words and patterns — “Summer2024!”, keyboard walks like “qwerty123”, and pet names are in every attacker’s word list.
- Personal information — birthdays, names, and phone numbers are easy to guess or find online.
Random passwords vs passphrases
A random password (e.g. k8#mP2vL9qR4xN7w) maximises entropy in a short string. It is ideal when a password manager stores it—you never have to memorise it.
A passphrase chains several unrelated words with spaces or separators (e.g. correct-horse-battery-staple). Long passphrases can be strong and sometimes easier to type once, but predictable word choices (“iloveyou”, song lyrics) weaken them. Random word lists from a generator beat picking words yourself.
For email, banking, and work accounts, prefer long random strings in a manager. For a rare case where you must memorise one secret, a long passphrase can work if the words are truly random.
Length and character sets
Length matters more than forcing every symbol type. A 20-character password drawn from letters and numbers can be stronger than an 8-character password with “!@#$”. For important accounts, aim for 16 characters or more. Include uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols if the site allows—especially when length is capped low.
If you type passwords by hand often, some generators let you exclude ambiguous characters (like 0 vs O) at a small cost to entropy.
Use a password manager
Memorising dozens of unique passwords is unrealistic. A password manager stores one strong master password (or passkey) and fills unique credentials per site. That beats reusing one “good” password everywhere. Choose a reputable manager and protect the master secret—do not store it in a plain-text file on your desktop.
Add multi-factor authentication (MFA)
MFA—an app code, hardware key, or similar second step—helps when a password is stolen. It does not replace a weak password, but it limits damage from phishing and database leaks. Turn it on for email and financial accounts first; those unlock password resets elsewhere.
What not to do
- Share passwords in chat, email, or sticky notes on a monitor.
- Use “security question” answers that are really second passwords—answers are often guessable.
- Assume changing passwords every 90 days helps if you only swap predictable variants of the same base word.
To generate a random string locally, use a browser-based tool such as the Password Generator on Nexora Tools: pick length and character options, copy the result into your manager, and never reuse it on another site.
FAQs
Are generated passwords stored anywhere?
No. When the generator runs in your browser, the password is created on your device and never sent to our servers.
How long should my password be?
At least 12 characters for general use; 16+ for email, banking, and sensitive accounts. Longer is better.
Passphrase or random string—which is stronger?
Both can be strong if they are long and unpredictable. Random 16+ character strings are usually best for stored credentials. Passphrases work when you need memorability and the words are chosen randomly, not from a song or quote.
Should I change all my passwords on a schedule?
Change a password immediately after a known breach or if you reused it on a compromised site. Routine calendar rotation without a reason often leads to weaker variants. Focus on unique, long passwords and MFA instead.