IF I HAVE TO REMEMBER ONE MORE PASSWORD my brain is going to explode. I suffer from the plight of the ancients. It used to be that you could use the word Bob as a password. Whatever you typed, that was your password. Xo.

Then hackers helped us improve our network security by stealing stuff. Over time, demands on passwords increased, but they increased incrementally, so we had to upgrade our passwords continuously. I have had to learn, unlearn, recreate, modify, extend, add non-letters to, and capitalize new passwords a hundred times over.

Likely, I’m more affected than most. As a teacher, I use a lot of websites. I join many of them just to experiment, then use it or not, I’m a member. I keep them updated because you never know. More than once I’ve had to click the “I forgot my password” option and detour to my email to go through the reconfirmation process before logging in. Multiply “more than once” by a dozen and you’ll know where I am.

One of the biggest upheavals I’ve had in years using websites came, not with changing my passwords, but with changing my email. Oh, Lordy. You’d think I was digging a hole behind Fort Knox. Some sites were easy to update, but others wanted multi-step constant confirmation and clearance. Many have reset questions hackers could figure out, like “Where were you born?” or “What high school did you attend?”

We need better reset questions, like “What street was your first dog born on?” “Who did your great grandfather think was the best President?” and “Why does the porridge bird lay its eggs in the air?”

I’m overjoyed with the added security. I’m happy to know my accounts are protected. I don’t mind a bit showing my ID and answering a few questions. It’s not too bad if you’re only changing a couple sites, but the task can blossom like a purple cauliflower if you’re too invested in technology and have to change them all.

Sending out the “I changed my email” message to “All Friends” is just the tip of the iceberg. Virtually every company I do business with has my email. I’m paperless. I had to make changes for Comcast, Apple, AT&T, Amazon, Netflix, Samsung, Toyota, PG&E, DMV, HBO, Social Security, 25 educational sites, all the banks, the off-shore accounts, and Facebook.

I had to do it over several long days and keep track of who next to notify. It was drudgery. I hope not to repeat it.

Advice from the trenches — think way ahead when creating your future passwords. Don’t make them up on the fly when encountered with a password prompt, and don’t keep using the same ones.

Using only one or two passwords can be dangerous if leaked. Build a handful and use them categorically. You need passwords for mission-critical financial matters, social cyberspace, employment and professional matters, and some that are sharable so the kids can get onto your laptop.

Consider first that many sites require long passwords that contain keystrokes beyond the alphabet and capitals. We must insert extended characters and numbers. Build that into your password-design strategy and make yourself three or five passwords. That will suffice.

One method is to have a rootword, like MonkeyShine, and then add prefixes and suffixes to meet the extended requirements: 22MonkeyShine@@, 44MonkeyShine$$. If the site requires eight characters, give it nine or 10.

My favorite new suggestion is to think of passphrases instead of passwords. It’s hard to remember all our little word tweaks when we reshape an ordinary word, like the password C@1i40rn!@. If you make too many of those, they’ll become a jumble in your jungle.

Consider instead a short nonsense passphrase like this: I2likehammers! or Im4flying@night, or this easy one: !234578niner, or g0atsR@mywindow. I could go on.

Many sites now thankfully let us log in using our Google or Facebook accounts. That makes joining websites a lot easier. Besides, sooner or later Google and Facebook will own most of those other websites.

Once you do have a list of important passwords, memorize them by not letting browsers save them. Always type them in. Do so until you have it second nature, then go on autopilot.

It’s best to write them down, yes — but where? Many of us keep a hard copy in a paper notebook stashed away discreetly in plain sight. I like that as a last-ditch backup. We also need it stored digitally, on a USB drive or the cloud, for ubiquitous access.

There are many good apps, widgets and software bundles that manage passwords. PC Magazine has LastPass as their favorite, and it comes with a free version and an app.

My approach is old-school and may not be the most secure, but it works for me. First I flat out memorize my bank numbers and don’t write them down anywhere. They’ll have to waterboard me.

I use Excel to make my lists and then password the file and name it something dull, like amortized-draft.xlsx. Excel has pretty good encryption. That file’s password is lodged only in my brain and it’s ineffable. I then email myself this file as an attachment. In my email I move it to an unrelated folder down in the trenches.

To access it I simply go to my email and open the Excel file on a secure computer. That requires two passwords plus knowing the file name and folder location. That should keep snoopers away.

Steve Gibbs teaches at Benicia High School and has written a column for The Herald since 1985.