An alphanumeric password contains numbers, letters, and special characters (like an ampersand or hashtag). In theory, alphanumeric passwords are harder to crack than those containing just letters. But they can also be harder to both create and remember.

Almost 80 percent of us reset our passwords every 90 days due to simple forgetting. It’s hard to think about making passwords even more complicated.

But this simple step could help protect a company’s important assets and valuable data.

What is an alphanumeric password?

Does your password contain simple alpha characters? If you type in something like "password" to get into your system, you don't have an alphanumeric password. If you must tap in "p@ssw3rd$," you're following the rules we're discussing here.

When your company enables an alphanumeric password requirement, you're required to use a password with:

• Letters. Anything from A to Z counts. You might be required to mix uppercase and lowercase versions.

• Numbers. Anything from 0 to 10 works.

• Special characters. Unusual symbols from dashes to dollar signs to parenthesis are included.

Dig into the math, and you'll understand why these steps are important.

If your password contains just six letters, a hacker has 26⁶ guessing options. If your password contains 12 characters, including numbers and symbols, a hacker has 72¹² possibilities. It takes much, much longer to guess a password like this.

No standard alphanumeric rules exist. Some companies ask for more characters, and others need fewer.

Create the perfect alphanumeric password: examples

If your company requires alphanumeric passwords, you must be creative to meet all of the rules and regulations.

For example, Harvard University requires passwords that are: