Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my password is strong enough?
A strong password should be at least 12 characters long and include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. It should not contain dictionary words, names, dates or predictable patterns. According to NIST guidelines, length is the most important factor — a 16-character password is significantly stronger than an 8-character one regardless of complexity. The tester above shows you exactly where your password stands and what to improve.
What does password entropy mean?
Entropy measures password unpredictability in bits. Higher entropy means more possible combinations. A password with 40 bits of entropy has about 1 trillion possible combinations. Each additional bit doubles the possibilities — 50 bits has about 1 quadrillion combinations. Security experts recommend at least 60-80 bits of entropy for sensitive accounts such as email, banking and password managers.
How long would it take to crack my password?
Crack time depends on the attack method and hardware. Modern cracking hardware can test billions of simple passwords per second. An 8-character lowercase password could be cracked in seconds. A 16-character random password using all character types would take millions of years even with powerful hardware. The estimated crack time shown assumes an offline brute force attack using standard cracking hardware — in reality, shorter passwords are often cracked faster using dictionary attacks and pattern matching.
Is it safe to type my real password here?
Yes. All analysis happens in your browser — your password is never transmitted to any server or stored anywhere. You can verify this by disconnecting your internet connection and testing — the tool still works completely offline. That said, we recommend testing a similar password rather than your actual one as a habit of good security practice.
What makes a password weak?
Common weaknesses include: being too short (under 12 characters), using dictionary words, predictable substitutions like p@ssw0rd, using personal information (names, dates, addresses), sequential patterns like 123456 or qwerty, and reusing the same password across multiple accounts. Even complex-looking passwords can be weak if they follow patterns — password cracking tools test millions of common patterns automatically.
