A good password has one job: be easy for you to use and nearly impossible for anyone — or anything — to guess. The trouble is that the old advice (cram in symbols, change it every month) actually made passwords worse. Modern guidance is simpler and far more effective. We at GetMyPassword explain what makes a password genuinely good in 2026, share memorable examples you can adapt, and show the techniques the experts actually use.
What makes a password good
The single rule that matters most is length. The latest NIST guidance prioritises long passwords (12–16 characters or more) over fiddly complexity, because every extra character multiplies the time an attacker needs. A good password is:
- Long — aim for at least 12–16 characters.
- Unique — a different one for every account.
- Unpredictable — no names, birthdays or keyboard runs.
- Not in a breach — never reuse a password that has leaked before.
The passphrase trick: strong and memorable
The easiest way to get length without losing your mind is a passphrase — three or four unrelated words strung together with a number or symbol. Something like SunnyBeach2026Walking is long, easy to picture and genuinely hard to crack, because there’s no dictionary word or personal detail an attacker can target. Pick words that mean nothing together and you’ll remember them far more easily than P@ssw0rd!.
The acronym method
Prefer something that looks random but isn’t? Take a sentence only you would know — “My first car was a blue Fiat I bought in 2009!” — and use the first letter of each word, keeping the numbers and punctuation: Mfcwab F Ibi2009!. The result looks like gibberish to everyone else but unpacks instantly in your head.
Examples of weak vs strong
| Weak — avoid | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| password1 | Top of every guessing list |
| Summer2026 | Predictable season + year |
| Qwerty123 | A keyboard pattern |
| Emma2010 | Name plus a birth year |
Swapping letters for look-alike numbers — “p@ssw0rd” instead of “password” — barely helps. Cracking tools have known those substitutions for years.
Don’t remember them — manage them
Here’s the honest truth the experts follow: nobody memorises a unique 16-character password for 80 accounts. The modern approach is to let a tool generate and store them. Use our free password generator to create strong ones, check them with the strength checker, and keep them in a manager — our guide to password managers shows how. You only need to remember one good master password; the tool handles the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good password example?
A passphrase of three or four unrelated words with a number, such as “SunnyBeach2026Walking,” is long, memorable and hard to crack. Don’t copy this one — build your own from words that mean nothing together.
How long should a good password be?
At least 12–16 characters. Length matters more than complexity, so a long passphrase beats a short password crammed with symbols.
Is it safe to use the same strong password everywhere?
No. Even a strong password becomes a risk if it’s reused — one breached site exposes all the others. Every account needs its own unique password.