How to choose a password more resistant to cracking attacks

You may note the careful choice of words, using terms such as ‘more resistant’ in the section title. The reason for this is that there are no absolutes in the security of a computer system. We can make a password more resistant or less resistant to cracking attacks with our choices, but we cannot completely protect against cracking attacks. It is important to set expectations on system security and the possibility of system security, as actions can be taken to reduce – but not eliminate – the risk of a threat to a system.

Given that, how do we make a password more resistant? The answers have been in front of us for years. In the 1980s, the United States Department of Defense (US DoD) published a set of rainbow books – they covered the management of computer systems, and how to build, audit, and evaluate them. While these books, maintained by the United States National Institute for Standards...