Password Strength Checker

What Is A Password Strength Checker?

A password strength checker is used to measure how secure your password is.

It's recommended to have a password that is at least 8-12 characters long. A password strength checker evaluates the complexity of the password. This entropy includes using uppercase/ lowercase letters, numbers, special symbols, and non-alphanumeric characters. The more varied the characters in the password, the stronger it is. 

The checker reviews the password for familiar patterns (like "1234" or "abcd") or quickly guessable information (like the user's name or date of birth), which malicious actors could soon detect. It also checks against a list of the most commonly used passwords, regarded as weak and easy to guess.

Most password strength checkers will display a strength rating (often as a color-coded bar), indicating if the password is "weak," "medium," or "strong." Using a password strength checker helps encourage better security practices by guiding individuals to create more complex and stronger passwords, making it harder for their accounts to be compromised.

Best practices for password management from a cybersecurity perspective:

1. Enforce Strong Password Policies: Set rules for password creation, such as a minimum length, the requirement of a mix of character types, and avoiding sequential or repetitive characters.

2. Use Password Strength Checker Tools: Leverage tools to check a password's strength and give users real-time feedback about password security.

3. Implement Two-Factor Authentication: This adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity using a second factor besides their password.

4. Periodically Change Passwords: Regularly updating passwords helps to reduce the chance of a cyber attack. However, make sure that users are not recycling old passwords.

5. Educate Users: Many breaches come from unknowing employees. Educate users about strategies for creating strong passwords and the importance of password security.

6. Password Encryption: Always encrypt stored passwords. Even if a data breach occurs, the passwords won't be directly accessible.

7. Implement Account Lockout Policies: An account should be locked after several incorrect password attempts, as this could signify a brute force attack.

8. Use a Trusted Password Management Tool: When there are too many passwords to remember, users often resort to unsafe practices (such as using the same password repeatedly). In these cases, using a trusted password manager can help.