Check Your Passwords’ Strength at Microsoft’s Password Checker

Microsoft offers a helpful little box to type your security phrases into that instantly grades them as “Weak,” “Medium,” and “Strong.” Before the inevitable eye rolls and comments on the concepts of “Microsoft” and “security,” see the Windows-maker’s helpful suggestion on building a tough password:

A strong password should appear to be a random string of characters to an attacker. It should be 14 characters or longer, (eight characters or longer at a minimum). It should include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

I was kind of surprised to see that one of my standard passwords was rated “Weak,” while my previously-thought super-strong password was just “Medium.” Worth checking out, and maybe taking to heart if you’ve got more than a few weaklings in your web login list.