The Day I Got Hacked (And What I Learned About Passwords)

Two weeks ago, I woke up to 47 LinkedIn connection requests from random people in Eastern Europe. That's when I realized my account had been compromised.

The embarrassing part? My password was "password123!" - and I had been using variations of it for literally everything. Email, banking, social media, you name it.

I felt like an idiot. I work in tech. I should know better.

My Terrible Password Habits (Don't Judge Me)

Here's how bad my password situation was:

• LinkedIn: password123!
• Gmail: password123
• Netflix: password1234
• Banking: Password123! (I thought the capital P made it "secure")
• Work accounts: password123! + company name

I basically had one password with tiny variations. When LinkedIn got compromised, the hackers tried the same password on everything else. Luckily, I caught it before they got into anything critical.

The Security Wake-Up Call

That hack was exactly the motivation I needed to fix my password situation. But here's the problem: creating good passwords is really hard.

I tried making them myself at first:

• FirstPw87!: Too predictable
• MyDogRex2024: Personal info that could be guessed
• Tr0ub4dor&3: Felt clever, but still follows common patterns

The truth is, humans are terrible at creating truly random passwords. We fall into patterns, use personal info, and make things that seem random but actually aren't.

How I Fixed My Password Problem

After some research, I found password generators that create actually random passwords. Here's what I learned:

Strong Random Passwords

These tools generate passwords like: K7#mP9$vX2@nQ5!

• 16+ characters long
• Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols
• No dictionary words or personal info
• Completely unpredictable

The downside? They're impossible to remember. But that's what password managers are for.

Pronounceable Passwords

For things I need to type regularly, I found generators that create passwords like: Flub7-Quox-Zent2

• Still random, but pronounceable
• Easier to type when needed
• Less secure than pure random, but way better than "password123"

Unique Usernames

I also needed new usernames for accounts I was recreating. Random username generators gave me options like:

• SkylineWanderer47
• CodeVelocity92
• NeonCircuit83

Way more creative than "tomchen2024" or whatever I would have come up with.

Other Random Generation Tools I Now Use

After fixing my password situation, I discovered these generators are useful for way more than just security:

For Work Projects

Random email addresses: When testing our app's email features, I need fake emails that look real. The email generator creates addresses like "jennifer.thompson.47@example.com" - much better than "test1@test.com".

Dummy text for designs: Instead of using boring Lorem Ipsum, I can generate more natural-sounding filler text for mockups and prototypes.

Random usernames for testing: Creating test accounts with names like "CosmicRaven84" instead of "testuser1", "testuser2", etc.

For Personal Stuff

Gaming handles: Generated "VoidWalker_Prime" for my new gaming account. Way cooler than anything I would have thought of.

Random words for creativity: When I'm stuck on naming something, random word generators give me starting points I never would have considered.

The Bigger Security Lesson

That LinkedIn hack taught me something important: most security breaches happen because of human predictability, not sophisticated hacking.

The hackers didn't break some complex encryption. They just tried common passwords on a bunch of accounts and got lucky with mine.

Now I use:

• Unique, randomly generated passwords for everything important
• A password manager to remember them all
• Two-factor authentication wherever possible
• Random usernames that don't give away personal info

When Random Generation Actually Helps

These tools are genuinely useful for:

Security: Creating passwords and usernames that can't be guessed Testing: Generating realistic dummy data for apps and websites
Design: Creating placeholder content that doesn't distract from layout Creativity: Getting unstuck when you need ideas for names, words, or concepts

The key is that truly random content is often better than what humans create naturally.

My New Password Rules

Since the hack, I follow these rules:

1. Every important account gets a unique, random password
2. Use a password manager to store them all
3. Generate new passwords, don't try to create them myself
4. Use different random usernames where possible
5. Enable two-factor authentication everywhere

It takes a few extra minutes to set up, but it's way better than dealing with compromised accounts.

The Bottom Line

Getting hacked was embarrassing, but it was the wake-up call I needed. Random generators aren't just convenient - they're actually more secure than human-created passwords and usernames.

If you're still using predictable passwords (you know who you are), do yourself a favor and upgrade your security with some random password generators. Your future self will thank you.

Don't wait until you get that weird "47 connection requests from Eastern Europe" wake-up call like I did.