Password Styles
There are a variety of styles of passwords and passphases this site can generate for you. Each have their pluses and minuses.
All styles are randomly generated under highly controlled conditions, so password crackers and other malicious people have no easy way to guess them.
You can see exactly how many combinations each style has on their pages (bigger numbers are better, but harder to remember).
Readable Passphrase
Example: the statesman will burgle amidst lucid sunlamps
Pros
- Common words and familiar structure make them the easiest to remember
- Most password crackers don't look for such long passwords
- Passphrases are quite entertaining
Cons
- Longest style to achieve required quality
- Time consuming to type (especially on mobile devices)
- Many websites will not accept a password this long
Recommended Uses
- Computer logins
- Master passwords for password managers
- Full disk encryption passwords
- Randomised answers to "secret questions"
- Any time you cannot use a password manager
- Having a laugh at nonsense phrases!
Dictionary Passphrase
Example: correct horse battery staple (as popularised by xkcd)
Pros
- Common words make them easy to remember
- Most password crackers don't look for such long passwords
- Passphrases can be moderately entertaining
Cons
- Must be long to be of required quality
- Time consuming to type (especially on mobile devices)
- Many websites will not accept a password this long
Recommended Uses
- Computer logins
- Master passwords for password managers
- Full disk encryption passwords
- Randomised answers to "secret questions"
- Any time you cannot use a password manager
Pronounceable Password
Example: psu-zigh-soorh-alung
Pros
- Familiar sounds make them reasonably easy to remember
- Just as strong as other methods
- Quite easy to type, even on mobile devices
Cons
- Hardest to remember of the common passphrases on this site
Recommended Uses
- Computer logins
- Website logins
- Any time you cannot use a password manager
PIN
Example: 9237
Important PINs are not a substitute for a password. They should only be used on phones, tablets or to protect your credit card. Never use a PIN as your computer login or a website login.
Pros
- PINs from this site will never contain the most commonly used combinations
- Its quite easy to memorise a 6 or even 8 digit PIN
- A random PIN will be of better quality than the connect-the-dots style
Cons
- Not a replacement for a password
- Only to be used on phone, tablets and credit cards
- Don't use them as computer logins or website accounts, ever
- Really, I mean it!
Recommended Uses
- Phones, tablets or other mobile devices
- Credit and debit cards
- PIN coded doors
Pattern
Example: 7,5,9,8,6
Important Patterns are not a substitute for a password. They should only be used on phones, tablets or other touch devices. Never use a pattern as your for website logins.
Pros
- Patterns are easy to memorise. Even a sequence of 6 or 8 "dots".
- This site will generate a genuinely random pattern.
- Easier to remember thatn a completely random PIN.
Cons
- Not a replacement for a password
- Only to be used on phone, tablets and touch devices
- Don't use them for website accounts, ever
- Really, I mean it!
Recommended Uses
- Phones, tablets or other touch devices
Alpha Numeric Password
Example: RcJd04QI
Pros
- Most websites will accept it, perhaps with a little tweaking
- Pretty short to type
Cons
- Hard to remember even a short password
- Difficult to type on mobile devices with capital letters
- Even more difficult to type on mobile devices with punctuation and symbols
- Every password manager under the sun already generates these
Recommended Uses
- None. Use your password manager instead!
Unicode
Example: ㈒୫❫✤ʁⲮ₪Ǧ
Pros
- Totally unguessable
- Very geeky
Cons
- Few websites will accept them
- Extremely hard to remember
- Impossible to type in most environments; copy-and-paste is really the only way
Recommended Uses
- Generating a single unicode character to add to another password
- Showing off to your friends
Hex String
Example: 3629c4f4a7c1e32f
Pros
- Closest you can get to completely random 1's and 0's
Cons
- Meant for use by computers, not people
Recommended Uses
- Seeding a random number generator
- Providing additional entropy for random number generators