Passwords…. The Golden Key to Data

Passwords are responsible for keeping data safe when we log into a website. The most common problem is that some website’s password criteria is too complex for an easy password. From experience, users get frustrated as to why is the policy so strict. The table below, courtesy of Lock Down shows how long it would take to crack an alphanumerical (numbers and letters) password. The types of attacks refer to the cracking speed (10,000+ passwords/sec).

Mixed upper and lower case alphabetic characters plus numbers.
Mixed Alpha and Numerals 0123456789AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz

Length Combinations Class A    Class B   Class C   Class D   Class E    Class F
2          3,844              Instant     Instant   Instant    Instant    Instant     Instant
3          238,328 23      Secs     < 3 Secs   Instant    Instant    Instant     Instant
4          15 Million        24½ Mins 2½ Mins 15 Secs < 2 Secs Instant      Instant
5          916 Million     1 Day    2½ Hours  15¼ Mins 1½ Mins 9 Secs      Instant
6          57 Billion       66 Days 6½ Days    16 Hours  1½ Hours 9½ Mins 56 Secs
7          3.5 Trillion    11 Years   1 Year       41 Days    4 Days  10 Hours   58 Mins
8          218 Trillion   692 Years 69¼ Years 7 Years 253 Days 25¼ Days 60½ Hrs.


The longer and more complex the password is, the safer the data will be since it will take longer to crack, thus allowing crackers to be detected before damage is done.