How to Generate Secure Passwords (and Why Length Matters More Than Complexity)

For decades, websites told us to create passwords like P@ssw0rd! — mix uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Turns out that advice was mostly wrong. A 20-character lowercase passphrase is harder to crack than an 8-character "complex" password.

The Math: Entropy

Password strength is measured in bits of entropy. Each character position multiplies the number of possible combinations. A lowercase letter has 26 possibilities (4.7 bits). A character from a set of 94 printable ASCII characters has 6.5 bits. So an 8-character password from the full set has 8 x 6.5 = 52 bits. A 20-character lowercase password has 20 x 4.7 = 94 bits. The longer password wins by a landslide.

Why "Complexity" Rules Fail

When you force users to include symbols and numbers, they do predictable things: Password1!, Summer2024#. Attackers know these patterns. Dictionary attacks with "leet speak" substitutions (a→@, o→0, i→1) crack "complex" passwords in seconds. A random 4-word passphrase like correct-horse-battery-staple has 44 bits per word (from a 2048-word list) = 176 bits total. No human pattern, no dictionary shortcut.

Best Practices in 2026

• Minimum 12 characters, ideally 16+. NIST guidelines since 2017 recommend length over complexity.
• Use a password manager — You cannot remember 50 unique random passwords. Let software do it.
• Enable 2FA everywhere — A strong password alone is not enough if the service gets breached.
• Never reuse passwords — One breach exposes every account that shares the same password.
• Check haveibeenpwned.com — If your password appears in a known breach, change it immediately.

Generate One Now

Use the Password Generator to create a random password with your preferred length and character set. Everything runs in your browser — the generated password never leaves your device.