Question 1

How is password strength calculated?

Accepted Answer

Password strength is calculated based on multiple factors: length (longer is better), character variety (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols), entropy (randomness measured in bits), and absence of common patterns (sequences, repeats, dictionary words). The score combines all these factors into an overall strength rating.

Question 2

Is my password sent to a server?

Accepted Answer

No, never. All analysis runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your password is never transmitted, stored, or logged anywhere. You can verify this by checking that no network requests are made.

Question 3

What is password entropy?

Accepted Answer

Entropy measures the randomness of a password in bits. Higher entropy means harder to crack. For example, a random 12-character password with mixed case, numbers, and symbols has about 78 bits of entropy, which would take billions of years to brute-force.

Question 4

How long would it take to crack my password?

Accepted Answer

The time estimate assumes an attacker using modern hardware (10 billion guesses per second). This is conservative — actual attacks using GPUs or specialized hardware can be faster. The estimate helps you understand the relative strength of different passwords.

Question 5

What makes a password strong?

Accepted Answer

A strong password is: at least 12 characters long, uses a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols, avoids common words and patterns, is unique (not reused across sites), and is randomly generated rather than human-created. Passphrases (3-4 random words) are also excellent.

Question 6

Should I use a password manager?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. Password managers generate and store unique, complex passwords for each account. You only need to remember one master password. Popular options include Bitwarden (free/open-source), 1Password, and KeePass.

Question 7

What common patterns weaken passwords?

Accepted Answer

Common weaknesses include: keyboard walks (qwerty, asdf), sequences (1234, abcd), repeated characters (aaa), common substitutions (p@ssw0rd), dictionary words, personal info (birthdays, names), and any password from published breach lists.

Question 8

How often should I change my password?

Accepted Answer

Current NIST guidelines say you don't need to change passwords regularly unless there's evidence of a breach. Instead, focus on using strong, unique passwords for each account and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible.

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