How to Generate Strong Passwords in 2026

Why Password Strength Matters

Despite the rise of passkeys and biometric authentication, passwords remain the primary authentication method for most online accounts in 2026. Weak passwords are the number one cause of account compromise — attackers use automated tools that can test billions of combinations per second against leaked password hashes.

A strong password is your first line of defense. Understanding what makes a password strong, and how to generate one reliably, is a fundamental security skill.

What Makes a Password Strong?

Password strength comes down to one concept: entropy. Entropy measures the number of possible combinations an attacker would need to try in a brute-force attack. It is expressed in bits — a password with 60 bits of entropy means an attacker faces 2^60 (about 1.15 quintillion) possible combinations.

Three factors determine entropy:

1. Length

Length is the single most important factor. Each additional character multiplies the number of possible combinations. A 16-character password is exponentially harder to crack than an 8-character one, even with the same character set.

2. Character Variety

Using a mix of uppercase letters (26), lowercase letters (26), digits (10), and symbols (32) increases the pool of possible characters per position from 26 to 94. More variety per position means more entropy per character.

3. Randomness

Patterns destroy entropy. "Password123!" technically uses uppercase, lowercase, digits, and symbols — but it appears in every password dictionary. True randomness means each character is independently chosen from the full character set.

How Much Entropy Do You Need?

• 40 bits: Minimum for low-value accounts. Crackable with dedicated hardware.
• 60 bits: Good for most personal accounts.
• 80 bits: Strong. Recommended for email and financial accounts.
• 100+ bits: Excellent. Suitable for encryption keys and high-security systems.

A randomly generated 16-character password using uppercase, lowercase, digits, and symbols has about 105 bits of entropy — well into the excellent range.

Common Password Mistakes

Using Personal Information

Birthdays, pet names, street addresses, and phone numbers are easily discoverable through social media and public records. Never use them in passwords.

Reusing Passwords

When one service suffers a data breach, attackers try stolen credentials on every other service (credential stuffing). A unique password per account contains the damage to a single breach.

Simple Substitutions

Replacing "a" with "@" or "e" with "3" does not meaningfully increase security. Attackers know these patterns and include them in their dictionaries.

Short Passwords

An 8-character password using the full ASCII character set has about 52 bits of entropy. Modern GPU clusters can crack that in hours. Aim for at least 14 characters.

Password Generation Strategies

Random Character Strings

The most secure approach: let a generator pick random characters from the full set. Example: k9#Lm$vQ2x!pR7nW. These are hard to remember but ideal when combined with a password manager.

Passphrase Method (Diceware)

Pick four to six random words from a large word list: correct horse battery staple. Passphrases are easier to type and remember while still providing high entropy — four random words from a 7,776-word list give about 51 bits, and six words give about 77 bits.

Hybrid Approach

Combine a memorable passphrase with random characters: Sunset-42-River-!elk. This balances memorability with entropy.

Use a Password Manager

No human can memorize unique, high-entropy passwords for dozens or hundreds of accounts. A password manager stores all your credentials behind a single strong master password. Your master password is the one password you must memorize — make it a strong passphrase of at least 5 random words.

Popular, well-audited options include Bitwarden, 1Password, and KeePassXC.

Generate a Password Right Now

Our Password Generator creates cryptographically random passwords in your browser. You can customize the length, choose which character types to include, and copy the result instantly. Nothing is sent to a server — the generation happens entirely on your device using the Web Crypto API.

Summary

A strong password is long, random, and unique. Use a password generator to create them, a password manager to store them, and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. In a world where billions of credentials have been leaked, these habits are not optional — they are essential.