At the risk of repeating myself (see
What you dont know about passwords might hurt you), the best way to ensure that you never forget your passwords is to offload the task of remembering to a password manager such as
1Password (; $40). For most passwords, most people, and most of the time, thats the only trick youll need. However, no matter what tools you use, youll have to memorize at least a few passwords. Because those are among your most important, you dont want to trade security for memorability. Here a few tips that can help you make sure your brain doesnt betray you.
I have no idea what 99 percent of my passwords are. Honestly, none whatsoever. Theyre long strings of random computer-generated characters, and Ive never even glanced at most of them. When I need to use them, I let my password manager fill them in for me or, if that wont work for some reason, I copy and paste them. After all, its no harder for an app to enter a 14-character random password than for me to type in the word
baseball, so I figure I have nothing to lose by going the crazy-secure route.