Check password strength

Most, if not all, online accounts can only be accessed with the correct username and password. Though the username identifies your account and is generally known to others (as in the case of email accounts), it’s the password that provides the needed security. You not only have to keep the password away from prying eyes but also make sure that it is sufficiently convoluted so that it cannot be guessed in a few tries.

HowSecureIsMyPassword is a neat web based service with which you can check the password for strength and complexity. And it gives some really cool and surprisingly intelligent results.

Check password strength and protect your online account

To check your account password simply enter it in the large input field (the information is not displayed) and hit the enter key. The service tells you the time (seconds, minutes, hours, years…) it will take a desktop computer to crack the login information or, in other words, the strength of the password.

Is your account secure with a strong password?

Here are some of my observations when I took HowSecureIsMyPassword for a spin:

• A longer password increases the security of your account – I’m sure you knew that.
• There are many who use password or 12345 as their account passwords. I liked the response generated by the system, Your password is one of the 500 most common passwords. It would be cracked almost instantly.
  
• Moral: Your account password should not be something very obvious or plain ‘stupid’, if you know what I mean.
• Put in both uppercase and lowercase letter and throw in a few digits and punctuation symbols. This will increase tremendously the strength of the password. I checked my account password and it was heartening to know that a desktop computer would take 4 trillion years to crack it… and by that time I would have changed it several times!
  

HowSecureIsMyPassword is a great service especially for the newly initiated. Not only are the results easy to understand but also intelligent.

Conclusion: To prevent account hacking, it is imperative that one uses a password which is “strong” – this secures the account and protects important and vital information. If a check reveals that the password can be cracked quickly, you know you have to come up with a robust alternative. Check my tips on how to make a strong password for your online account.