Edward Snowden Explains Why You Should Use Passphrases, Not Passwords

Edward Snowden Explains Why You Should Use Passphrases, Not Passwords

We’ve talked a lot about password security, and how you should be using longer, complex passphrases, rather than short passwords. In this video, Edward Snowden explains why you should use passphrases in a way all your friends and family can understand.

It can’t be overstated how important it is to use strong passwords, given that we still haven’t figured this mess out. And, until we do, PSAs like this one stay important. And it could hardly come from a more relevant source. Edward Snowden famously leaked key details about the NSA’s mass surveillance, so he knows a thing or two about what makes a system secure or not.

The best password is one even you don’t know, which is why still recommend augmenting your security strategy with a password manager. However, for the passwords you do have to remember, long passphrases — that aren’t common, well-known phrases that are likely to be in a dictionary — are the way to go.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Edward Snowden on Passwords [YouTube]


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