To determine the total number of possible passwords, we can break the password format down into its components. The password structure is defined as three letters, followed by two digits, and then two more letters.
1. **Choosing the Letters:** For the first three letters, since there are 26 letters in the English alphabet and the password is not case sensitive, we can choose from all 26 letters for each of the three positions. This gives us:
26 options for the first letter x 26 options for the second letter x 26 options for the third letter = 263.
2. **Choosing the Digits:** For the next two digits, there are 10 possible numerical digits (0 through 9). Thus, the number of options for the two digits is:
10 options for the first digit x 10 options for the second digit = 102.
3. **Choosing the Final Letters:** For the final two letters, we again have 26 options available for each. Therefore:
26 options for the fourth letter x 26 options for the fifth letter = 262.
Now, we can combine all these options together to compute the total number of distinct passwords:
Total Passwords = 263 x 102 x 262.
Calculating this gives:
Total Passwords = 265 x 102
Now substituting the values:
265 = 11881376 and 102 = 100.
Therefore, Total Passwords = 11881376 x 100 = 1188137600.
In conclusion, there are a total of 1,188,137,600 possible seven character computer passwords that can be created with this specified format.