How Passwords Work
Why "password123" is a terrible idea
Why "password123" is a terrible idea
The average person has 100+ online accounts. Each password is a key to your digital life.
⚠ These are the most commonly used passwords. Never use them!
Passwords are often the only thing between hackers and your personal data, money, and identity.
Weak or stolen passwords are responsible for over 80% of data breaches according to Verizon's research.
Hackers try every possible combination. See how fast different passwords can be cracked.
Modern GPUs can test 100 billion password combinations per second. A 6-character lowercase password? Cracked instantly.
Password strength is measured in "bits of entropy" - more bits = exponentially harder to crack.
Entropy = log₂(poolⁿ). Each bit doubles the difficulty. 77 bits has 2⁷⁷ combinations!
"Through 20 years of effort, we've trained everyone to use passwords hard for humans to remember but easy for computers to guess."
Good websites never store your actual password. They store a "hash" - a one-way fingerprint.
You can turn a password into a hash, but you can't turn a hash back into a password. That's the magic!
When you log in, the site hashes what you typed and compares it to the stored hash. Match = you're in!
Hackers pre-compute hashes for common passwords. "Salting" defeats this attack.
Hackers pre-compute millions of password hashes. Without salt, "password" always hashes to the same thing.
A unique random salt for each user means hackers can't use pre-computed tables. They must crack each hash individually.
See how strong your password really is. (Don't use your real passwords!)
Use a password manager to generate and store unique passwords. Enable two-factor authentication everywhere you can!
You now understand why strong, unique passwords are your first line of defense online.
A longer password is exponentially harder to crack than a short complex one.
Good websites store hashed passwords, not your actual password.
Reusing passwords means one breach can compromise all your accounts.
Password strength is measured in bits of entropy - more randomness = more secure.
Put your new knowledge into practice!