What makes a strong password?

Make the password at least 12 characters long. Security experts recommend a “passphrase” rather than simply a password. Such a phrase should be relatively long — perhaps 20 characters or so, and consist of seemingly random words strung together along with numbers, symbols, and upper and lower case letters. Think of something that you can remember but others couldn’t guess, such as YellowChocolate#56CadillacFi$h.

Any other advice?

Include numbers, capital letters, and symbols. Consider using a $ instead of an S or a 1 instead of an L, or including an & or % — but note that $1ngle is NOT a good password. Password thieves are onto this. But Mbf$TJ1ravng (short for “My best friend Sam T Jones is really a very nice guy) is an excellent password. This might seem obvious, but studies have found that a lot of people post their password on their monitor with a sticky note. Bad idea! If you must write it down, hide the note somewhere where no one can find it.

Is it OK to use the same password on multiple sites and apps?

No! If any of the sites you visit are hacked or if a person working at that site steals your password, criminals could try using it on other sites and apps. Vary them at least a little bit by adding unique letters, numbers, or symbols for each account.