Password Checkers
Spending time with a password checker can be one way to become more familiar with what constitutes a strong password versus a weak password. Password checkers test the strength of the password entered and provide a strength rating. Be aware that password checkers don’t all provide the same strength ratings, though. I recently used a couple of different password checkers and compared the results. One password checker returned a medium security rating, while another gave the same password entry a weak rating. Several free password checkers are available on the Internet, so shopping around is affordable. (See the "References" section at the end of this article for some examples.)