How strong is your password really?

You may think that your current online passwords safe and strong, because you are using more than 8 characters in your password and both upper and lower case letters. Not necessarily so.

As hacking and account hijacking (with ransom) is the “new black” in organized crime, hackers are using more and more resources to crack easy passwords. Computers, as per Moore’s law, get more and more powerful each passing year, and will need less and less time to guess your password using brute force.

What used to be “safe” password, no longer is.

Fortunately, there are a few good password strength checker websites exists. Simply type in your proposed password, and the websites will let you know how safe your password really is.
 

1. Howsecureismypassword.net.

Howsecureismypassword.net can be found at https://howsecureismypassword.net. Its sponsored by Dashlane Password Manager, and the website will instantly tell you, how long it will take for an average computer to hack your password.

2. Kaspersky Password Checker.

This password checker is developed by Kaspersky Security, the Anti-Virus company. Find the checker at https://password.kaspersky.com. This chekcer takes repeated words/numbers into consideration (considered a no-no).

3. PasswordMeter.

Password meter  at http://www.passwordmeter.com, will give you a password strength score based on the following parameters:

Number of Characters
Uppercase Letters
Lowercase Letters
Numbers
Symbols
Middle Numbers or Symbols
Letters Only
Numbers Only
Repeat Characters (Case Insensitive)
Consecutive Uppercase Letters
Consecutive Lowercase Letters
Consecutive Numbers
Sequential Letters (3+)
Sequential Numbers (3+)
Sequential Symbols (3+)

Note, never use your actual password with password checkers, though the above websites are considered safe and secure. Use a slight variation of your password when testing.

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