Question 1

What makes a strong password?

Accepted Answer

Strong password criteria: 12+ characters, mix of uppercase/lowercase/numbers/special characters, no dictionary words, no personal info, no sequential patterns (abc, 123), no repeated characters (aaa). Longer passwords exponentially increase security - each additional character multiplies possible combinations.

Question 2

How long should my password be?

Accepted Answer

Minimum: 8 characters (barely acceptable). Recommended: 12+ characters for good security. Strong: 16+ characters. Very strong: 20+ characters. Modern brute force can crack 8-character passwords in hours. 12+ characters with mixed types takes years. Use password managers to store long passwords.

Question 3

What is password entropy?

Accepted Answer

Entropy measures password unpredictability in bits. Formula: log2(number of possible combinations). Higher entropy = harder to crack. 8-char lowercase only: ~37 bits (weak). 12-char with all types: ~78 bits (strong). 20+ bits = billions of combinations. Each bit doubles difficulty.

Question 4

Why avoid common patterns in passwords?

Accepted Answer

Attackers use dictionaries with: common words (password, qwerty), sequences (abc, 123), repeats (aaa), substitutions (p@ssword), dates, names. These patterns reduce entropy dramatically. 'password123' takes seconds to crack despite being 11 characters. Randomness matters more than length alone.

Question 5

Should I use a password manager?

Accepted Answer

Yes, password managers (Bitwarden, 1Password, LastPass) are strongly recommended. Benefits: generate truly random passwords, store unlimited unique passwords per account, autofill securely, encrypted storage, sync across devices. One strong master password protects all others. Much safer than reused passwords or written notes.

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