With the prevalence of online banking, social networking and home shopping, password security should always be of paramount concern. After all, passwords are inarguably the last line of defense against hackers, identity thieves and other types of malicious characters. However, this is sometimes easier said than done. With multiple accounts across an array of different platforms, many of us err on the side of convenience and choose weak passwords . . . for instance, children’s names, dates of birth or other publicly available information. While these can be easily remembered, they can also be effortlessly cracked by intrepid fraudsters, who often scour social media sites for identifiable information.

One strategy for improving online security is the use of a passphrase — which is a short sentence or a random series of words.  These are particularly attractive because of their length but when they include numbers, special characters, spaces and capitalization they can be almost impregnable. The key is to choose something which is meaningful and memorable, but that can’t be easily guessed.

Below are some examples of complex passwords using a passphrase: