How do I create a secure Password or Pass Phrase?

The most secure pass phrases are long, random and composed of symbols and characters. This isn't convenient for human memory, and if you start writing your Pass Phrases down, it reduces your security a fair bit (it's like leaving the keys to your front door under the flower-pot outside)!

The best compromise we've come across, is to use a mnemonic and 'reduce it' and transform it into a Pass Phrase, based on a pattern you come up with and keep to yourself.

For instance, and we're not advocating you use this actual mnemonic, but take as an example, "Mary had a little lamb, her fleece was white as snow".

We could translate this memory aid into Pass Phrases of:

"Mhallhfwwas"

Taking the first letter of each word - note the first is a capital letter for 'Mary' - this is important to remember as Quick Crypto Pass Phrases are case sensitive (and space, symbol and number ...)

Or

M h a l l h f w w a s (space in between each letter)

Or

M-h-a-l-l-h-f-w-w-a-s

Or

Mhallhfwwas01012000 (the number being a significant date of yours perhaps)

Or

M1h2a3l4l5h6f7w8w9a10s11

Use a mnemonic phrase that you keep to yourself but helps you remember the content, lower or upper case, and order of the characters, then also fix a method (always put a space in between or any other symbol or combination, or add numbers in)

If you forget the relevant Pass Phrase key, you won't be able to decrypt your files or text. Ever!