The first line of defence against being hacked is your password. That is why it is essential to choose a strong password and not reuse it on more than one website. Despite your best efforts, you cannot guarantee that your passwords will not fall into the hands of hackers.

You can check HaveIBeenPwned.com to determine whether your passwords have been compromised. Troy Hunt created this site to keep track of passwords exposed in data breaches. By entering your email address or username, you will be able to determine whether your account has been compromised.

  <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/f99d7c6094.jpg" alt="">

The first thing to do if you discover that your password has been compromised is to change it on the site that has been hacked. If you are using the same password on other sites, you should also change it. As a final step, you should create a unique password for each of your accounts.

Use a password manager such as LastPass, 1Password, or BitWarden to keep your passwords secure. Using a password manager, you only need to remember one master password, and the software will take care of the rest. Password managers can also generate strong, random passwords for you.

Here are some tips for creating a strong password:

• Mix upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols

• It should be at least 12 characters long

• Avoid using words that can be easily guessed, such as your name or birthday

• Passwords should not be reused across multiple websites

• You should avoid using online information that attackers can easily discover about you

You can also use the mnemonic technique:

• Think of a sentence or phrase that is easy for you to remember but that would be difficult for someone else to guess. As an example, my favourite colour is blue.

• Create a password using the first letter of each word in the sentence or phrase: MfciiB!

• To make it even more robust, add numbers and symbols: MfciiB!1

What is the best way to determine how long a hacker would take to crack my password?

Various online password checkers will provide you with an estimate of how long a hacker would take to crack your password using brute force techniques. As an example, the How Secure Is My Password? By running your password through several different encryption algorithms, the site will determine how long it would take to crack your password.

The above password (MfciiB!1) generated this:

  <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/5dae4e1e17.jpg" alt="">

If I add a question mark at the end, making it MfciiB!1?, it generates this:

  <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/dafc60abcf.jpg" alt="">

By adding one additional punctuation, it went from 8 hours to 6 months.

If I add another number, making it MfciiB!1?8, it changes to 52 years. This is a good example of how longer more complex passwords make cracking your passwords much less practical.

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Description: HaveIBeenPwned.com is a website created by Troy Hunt that keeps track of passwords exposed in data breaches. This site can be used to determine if your password has been compromised.