How Secure is Your Password?

If our readers can recollect, we had shared a blog post sometime last year on the common password mistakes people make, and how you can create strong passwords. Well, this post is to see whether our readers have followedour tips.

We will be sharing with you all a tool which will give you an idea about how strong your password is. It will also tell you how many days/years it would take for a hacker to crack your password. But before we come to that, let’s revisit some of the important Dos and Don’ts on creating strong, invincible passwords. And here they are:

The Do’s
1. Make your password at least 8 characters long.
2. Have a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters in it.
3. Use special characters.
4. Your password should also contain numbers.
5. Have a unique password for every account on the Internet.

The Don’ts
1. Never use your name, pet’s name, date of birth, street name, etc., as your password.
2. Never use the same password for different online accounts.
3. Avoid using easy-to-guess words as your password.
4. Avoid using adjacent keyboard combinations such as “asdfg”, “qwerty”, “123456”, etc.

At times, strong and unique passwords might be difficult to remember. One easy way to do it is to use the letters of your favorite poem, story, phrase, etc. For example, let’s say my favorite line is “Sea Shells by the Seashore are Pretty”. Now, using the first letter of each word, I will come up with a password such as SSbtSaP@1920.

Now you can see for yourself how strong this password is, and approximately how long a hacker will take to crack it. Click the button below and you will be taken to a secure webpage where you can test your password too. However, do not use real passwords. Keeping the above tips in mind, create a password and test its strength.

See Also:
Your Passwords Are on the Way Out, Leave it to Twitter
Common Password Mistakes Most Make