Use this system to follow current password recommendations and make sense of the many passwords required of any online user 

Passwords are the bane of our existence.  Currently, it is recommended that we have a different password for every application or website, that the passwords contain an upper and lower case letter, a number and a special character and are at least 8 digits/characters.  Unfortunately, the majority of users have very little variety in their passwords that are often short and only contain a  number and lowercase letters.  Working in IT, I see this every day (password1 is a good example).  Often, implementing strong passwords are so complicated that users write them all down and keep them on piece of paper next to the computer defeating the whole purpose of the strong password in the first place. 

Using this system will allow you to meet all the criteria of a strong password and will allow you to remember them all without writing them down on a piece of paper.

First create a base password that is easy to remmeber but is complex (contains an upper and lower case letter, a number and a special character).  If you went to Georgia Tech, for example, create a password like this:  Using the G@t3ch.  Using the "@" symbol for "A" and the number 3 for "E", you can see how this would be easy to remember.  Then, for whatever application or website you need a password for, add the first 2 letters of the website/application to your base password.  Creating a password for Amazon, for example would look like this G@T3chAM. A password for iTunes would look like G@T3chIT.

Anyone can remember this system.  At the same time, you are following all the recommendations on managing and using passwords and keeping your online information isolated and secure.