Useful Utilities

Password Strength Checker

Score a password 0 to 4 with every check shown: length, character variety, dictionary and keyboard patterns, counting runs and repeats, plus a crack-time estimate.

Fill in the values and calculate

Password to check*Typed here only; nothing is uploaded

The form sends itself back to this page — results print below, computed on the server.

No results yet: fill the form above and press Calculate.

About Password Strength Checker

Strength is measured in bits: the base estimate is the length times the log of the character pool, then pattern penalties are subtracted for dictionary words, keyboard rows, counting runs and repeats. Everything the score depends on is printed, so the number is reproducible from the page rather than a hidden model.

This measures how a brute-force attacker copes, which is the right question when a password leaks into a breached database; typed-error resistance is a different question entirely.

Questions about Password Strength Checker

Why does my strong-looking password score low?

Because it is built from dictionary words, a keyboard row or a counting run. Those patterns are what cracking programs try first, and the penalty row shows which one fired.

Is the crack time realistic?

It assumes the fastest common attacker, ten billion guesses per second against half the search space. A slow hashed login is millions of times slower, so treat the figure as a floor.

Should I just add a symbol?

One more character from a larger pool adds about six bits. Length is the steadier lever, and symbols tacked on the end are the first thing dictionaries try.

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