Strong Passwords

One of the foundation stones of a secure wireless computing, or any computer security for that matter, is strong passwords. Here are some of my favorite tools for generating strong passwords:

• The Security Guide for Windows - Random Password Generator: this web-based tool generates passwords of any length you specify (the default, 8 characters, is an excellent choice). Other great features include: “no similar characters” (e.g. i, l, o, 1, 0, I); and the option to generate multiple passwords with one click, which is very handy if you need to set up several accounts all at the same time.
• GRC’s Ultra High Security Password Generator generates long (63+ characters) password strings, using Hex, ASCII, and alphanumerics, every time you refresh the page. Plus, the page itself is transmitted via SSL! There’s plenty to read about each password string, as well as information on WPA keys and technical details of how the password is generated. Plus, check out the GRC | Security Now! podcast, where this password generator page is often mentioned -- a great computer security podcast.
• Finally, you may need a place to store all these passwords. I use the open source Keyring for Palm OS to keep all my passwords close at hand, safely encrypted. This Palm OS program also generates passwords, so you might not even need the web sites noted above.

Let me know if you’ve found a password generator that works for you.

Neil