How to Check if Your Password Is Actually Strong
September 5, 2026
Written by Mohammad Sohail
A strong password is the first line of defense for every online account. But most people guess at strength based on gut feeling — and most people are wrong. Here is how to check your password properly and what to fix if it is weak.
What Makes a Password Strong: Strength is measured by entropy — how many possible combinations an attacker would need to try. The main factors are length, character variety, and unpredictability. A 12-character password with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols has roughly 3.4 × 10²² possible combinations. A 6-digit PIN has only 1 million. The difference is the difference between centuries and minutes for a computer to crack.
What I Tested: I entered five passwords into the [Password Strength Checker](/security-tools/password-strength-checker) and recorded the results.
• 'password123' — Score: Very Weak. Cracked in under 1 second. This is the most common password in the world.
• 'Tr0ub4dor&3' — Score: Moderate. Looks complex but uses a common pattern (word + numbers + symbol). Cracked in about 3 hours with modern hardware.
• 'correct-horse-battery-staple' — Score: Strong. Four random words, 28 characters total. Despite containing no numbers or symbols, the length makes it extremely resistant to brute force. Estimated crack time: millions of years.
• 'J7#kL9!mN2$pQ4' — Score: Very Strong. 14 characters, fully random. Estimated crack time: billions of years.
• 'iloveyou' — Score: Very Weak. Cracked instantly. This is the second most common password globally.
The takeaway: length beats complexity. A long passphrase of random words is stronger than a short complex password.
Step-by-Step: (1) Open the [Password Strength Checker](/security-tools/password-strength-checker). (2) Type or paste your password in the input field. (3) Read the strength score and estimated crack time. (4) If the score is Weak or Moderate, rewrite the password using the tips below. (5) Never reuse the same password across multiple sites.
How to Build a Strong Password: Use at least 12 characters. Combine random words (passphrase method) or use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Avoid dictionary words, names, dates, or keyboard patterns like 'qwerty'. Consider using a password manager to generate and store unique passwords for every account.
One Limitation: The checker estimates strength based on length and character variety. It cannot detect if your password has been leaked in a data breach. For breach checking, use a service like 'Have I Been Pwned' (haveibeenpwned.com).
Privacy: Your password is checked entirely in your browser. It is never sent to any server. No one at FreeDigitalToolkit can see what you type.
Next Step: Once you have a strong password, generate unique passwords for all your accounts using the [Password Generator](/developer-tools/password-generator). It creates random passwords up to 128 characters long.