We keep repeating it, but it is essential today to protect your digital life as best we can. However, to do this, one of the essential points is to have passwords that are sufficiently effective and robust to thwart any attempt at intrusion into the many spaces where you have an account: messaging, forums, various websites, banking, etc.
While the web regularly rehashes the list of the weakest passwords, it is sometimes difficult to form an opinion on the robustness of one's own passwords.
However, there are several websites that allow you to test the security level of your passwords : How Secure Is My Password, Password Check (from antivirus publisher Kaspersky) or Password Checker (by Microsoft).
But is it smart to test your password online?
I would tend to answer “meh”…
On this type of site, your password does not pass through the web. Calculations are performed on your computer using a Javascript tool… so your password does not leave your browser. So in theory, no worries…
But, because there is a but, your security is not guaranteed. These sites could very well one day be hacked…
The solution therefore remains to enter a password of the same type as yours to get an idea of its robustness... If, for example, your password is "tata73", try "popo21", the result should be relatively close...
Finally, remember that a secure password must obey several rules:
- don't use dictionary words
- use uppercase AND lowercase letters
- put numbers AND letters
- use special characters ($, ?, €, #)
- Avoid passwords that are too short (at least ten characters)
There are also some very good tools for generating secure passwords like Password generator from Norton (the problem is that you have to remember it afterwards)!
Finally, remember that beyond robustness, it is important to change passwords regularly (yes, I know, it's annoying) and you need to ensure to maintain a healthy computer (virus-free). Indeed, the strongest password in the world will not be able to do anything for you if malicious people recover it directly from your machine.
Article updated on January 24, 2021 by Byothe
