I used to use difficult passwords… until I couldn't access something and spent weeks trying to figure out my own password! Use non-alphanumeric characters sparingly, especially "?" at the end - I kept forgetting to use the "?" at the end of a password, thinking I was just questioning whether the password was correct in my notes. (I never jot down the full password, just key characters to jog my memory.) A couple decades ago at a Microsoft course (I was a Windows admin) at a Microsoft facility, the instructor advised using no fewer than 28 characters of mixed characters in a password, and unique passwords for each need! Screw that. You can make it difficult with far fewer characters than 28.
I believe I am the one who is responsible for Microsoft not using 1s, Is, Lowercase Ls, Os, or 0s, in their serial numbers. Many years ago when Windows 95 just came out, I was trying to install both Windows 95 and then to install Microsoft Word on three new computersfor a client. The serial numbers that came with both software packages had numerous zeros, ones, lower case "Ls" and upper case "Os". . . and the font they had selected made determining what was what was impossible to tell the difference. I was extremely frustrated.
I called Microsoft Tech support and they tried to had to give me a new activation code for Windows, but I could not read the codes I had over the phone for them to validate. Finally, the guy on the phone had pity and went ahead and agreed we had indeed bought the product and gave us codes. After getting Windows installed and working, I then went on to the MS Word install and ran into the same damn thing. By this time I was really toasted. I called Microsoft Corporate headquarters and kept escalating my call until I was talking to someone with Senior VP in after his name, who said he worked right under Bill Gates. . . and explained the problem.
He got a fresh Windows 95 package and looked at it and said, "Good Grief! You know, you're right. I can't tell the difference either! We hadn't caught that! We've had an extraordinary number of people having trouble entering activation codes. You've figured out why!"
They had not tweaked to a simple issue. Within a month all new Microsoft products came out without those characters in their serial numbers or activation codes. I think they also dropped 5s and "Ss, anything that could be mistaken for another character, as well.
Did they pay me anything for my discovery? HAH! No way. But I know it was me. hehehehehehe.