Question 1

Does high entropy guarantee security?

Accepted Answer

No. Entropy measures theoretical randomness, but real security depends on many factors: whether the password was leaked in a breach, the strength of the site's hashing algorithm, rate limiting, and whether you've reused the password. A high-entropy password in a leaked database is still compromised.

Question 2

Why do patterns matter if my password looks complex?

Accepted Answer

Attackers use sophisticated techniques beyond brute force. Dictionary attacks, rule-based mutations (a→@, s→$), and leaked password analysis mean that 'P@ssw0rd!' and 'Summer2024!' are among the first guesses. Patterns that seem clever to humans are well-known to attackers.

Question 3

Is my password sent anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. All computation happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. The password never leaves your device. When you use the AI assistant, it only receives derived statistics (length, charset categories, entropy bits, pattern flags) - never the actual password text.

Question 4

What's the difference between online and offline cracking?

Accepted Answer

Online attacks target live services and are limited by rate limiting, CAPTCHAs, and account lockouts (typically 10-1000 guesses/second). Offline attacks happen after a data breach when attackers have password hashes - they can try billions of guesses per second with no restrictions.

Question 5

Should I use symbols or just make my password longer?

Accepted Answer

Length is generally more important than complexity. A 20-character lowercase passphrase is stronger than an 8-character password with symbols. However, if you're using a password manager to generate random passwords, include all character types. For memorable passwords, prioritize length.

Question 6

How accurate are the crack time estimates?

Accepted Answer

These are rough estimates based on theoretical keyspace and assumed attack speeds. Real-world times vary significantly based on: the actual hashing algorithm used (bcrypt vs MD5), available hardware, whether patterns can be exploited, and if the password appears in leaked databases. Use them for relative comparison, not absolute guarantees.

Question 7

What is Shannon entropy?

Accepted Answer

Shannon entropy measures the actual information content based on character frequency distribution. If you repeat characters (like 'aaaaaa'), Shannon entropy will be much lower than the base entropy estimate. It's shown as an informational metric to highlight passwords that look long but have repetitive patterns.

Question 8

Is a 12-character password enough?

Accepted Answer

For most online accounts with good security (bcrypt hashing, rate limiting, MFA), 12 random characters from a full charset (~78 bits) is very strong. For high-value targets or offline scenarios, aim for 16+ characters. Always use unique passwords and enable MFA where available.

Question 9

Why does the tool penalize short passwords?

Accepted Answer

Passwords under 8 characters can be cracked extremely quickly even with modern hashing. Most security guidelines now recommend 12+ characters minimum. The penalty reflects that short passwords are inherently weak regardless of complexity.

Question 10

Should I test my real passwords here?

Accepted Answer

We recommend against testing passwords you currently use on important accounts. While this tool doesn't send passwords anywhere, it's good security hygiene to never type real passwords into unfamiliar tools. Use this for learning and testing hypothetical passwords.

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