From here on out, I recommend using a password management software to learn your passwords and store them securely. Then you can use the built-in password generation function to create and remember very long and complex passwords which would otherwise be impossible to remember.

Once you have a good software program to easily learn and securely remember all your passwords, you will still have one password which you will be responsible to remember yourself: the password to get into the password software itself.

Here is how to create a secure password which you can remember:

-Write down a list of several random words.
-Each word should be at least four characters long.
-Avoid proper names, such as of pets, relatives or sports teams, since either you or the people you know have probably already divulged such information on Facebook and the like.
-Avoid picking phrases from literature, since there are hacker scripts which look for that. (However; you might decide to pick a book you like and pick words from random positions on random pages.)

Start writing your password beginning with one of those words:
-Before or after each word, insert either a number or symbol. (It’s okay to repeat an element!)
-Avoid the numbers 0 and 1 since they can be confused with the letters “oh” and “el”.
-Capitalize some of the characters.
-Use 3-5 words.
-Type your password into a document to see if it is easy to type quickly.
-Adjust your password for ease of use.

Write down the final version of your password before you enter it into a website or program, then:
-Write the final password
-Then transcribe the password by looking at the written version, rather than typing what you remember.
-Once you have created your password, log out and log back in. (This avoids issues with both misremembering and mistyping a password.)
-Keep the password in a safe place you can easily remember, such as a household safe or a safe deposit box.
-Avoid attaching it to your laptop or any part of your computer (such as monitor or keyboard) or anywhere in your workspace, such as in a desk drawer.
-Practice using your password several times a day until you are sure it is memorized.

Here are some interesting resources for you to look at when thinking about how passwords work and how to make them better:

Graham Cluley discusses password rules and password management software –

N3v$r M1^d password rules. Get a password manager to generate and remember your passwords instead

Dr. Mike Pound demonstrates how quickly scripts can crack passwords and explains in simple terms what that means –

In 2013 (seven years ago) a security researcher loaded Wikipedia into a password cracking algorithm and found this password “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn” which is a quote from a book by H.P. Lovecraft –
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/thereisnofatebutwhatwemake-turbo-charged-cracking-comes-to-long-passwords/

And here’s a little humor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJ-NSPES9Y