Is Your Password Strong Enough? The Answer Might Shock You (It’s Probably Not)

Okay, let’s talk passwords. Everyone has one. But not everyone has a good one.

And by good, I mean strong enough to stop hackers in their tracks.

I’ve told my kids — and now my grandkids — this for years:

A weak password is like leaving your front door wide open. A strong one? It’s a locked vault.

Let me show you why this matters.

Visit the free website Have I Been Pawned? (https://haveibeenpwned.com) and type in your email address. This tool will show you if any websites where you’ve shared your personal information have been hacked. If your email shows up, it means your private data — like passwords — could be out on the internet for anyone to see. That’s a big deal. If this happens, change your passwords to protect yourself.

What’s Wrong With "zoom" as a Password?

Imagine someone picks “zoom” as their password. Looks short and easy to remember. But here’s the problem…

I ran it through a site called Password Monster (https://www.passwordmonster.com).

It stated that a hacker could crack it in under 1 second.

Yep. One second. Blink and you’re hacked.

How to Create a Strong Password

A strong password:

• At least 10 characters long

• Use uppercase and lowercase letters

• Include numbers

• Add symbols like !, @, or $

Sounds easy enough, right?

Here's an easy way:

👉 Start with a sentence you’ll remember.

Let’s say you love bears. Then a simple sentence could be:

"Bears love honey."

Cute. Now let’s turn it into a strong password.

1. Remove the spaces: Bearslovehoney

2. Capitalize the first letter of each word: BearsLoveHoney

3. Replace "e" with 3: B3arsLov3Hon3y

4. Replace "a" with @: B3@rsLov3Hon3y

5. Replace "o" with 0: B3@rsL0v3H0n3y

6. Optional: Add a favorite number at the end: B3@rsL0v3H0n3y567

7. End with an exclamation point or other symbol: B3@rsL0v3H0n3y567!

That’s a strong password.

Password Monster says it would take a hacker 3 months to break it.

Better than 1 second, right?

Tiny changes make a big difference.

Want to Make It Even Stronger?

Hackers are smart. They know that people try to be tricky by using things like 3 instead of E, @ instead of A, and 0 instead of O in their passwords. But these tricks don’t fool hackers—they actually expect them.

However, if you take one of those 3's and make it into a different symbol, it will change how long it takes to crack.

If we swap one of the 3's for an @, like this: B3@rsL0v@H0n3y567! — now it would take 665 years to crack. Wild, isn’t it?

Important!! Never reuse your password. Ever!

If you use the same strong password for everything, it’s like giving a thief one key that opens every door in your house.

There are many places on the internet where your passwords have been compromised and are available to hackers. The first thing they would try is to use it to get into your bank accounts and credit cards.

Here’s an easy hack:

Just add part of the website name to the front.

Let’s say this password is for Roblox. Add “rb” to the front:rbB3@rsL0v@H0n3y567!

Now it takes a hacker 6 MILLION Years to crack it.

Yes, you read that right. 🧠💥

Bottom Line

Passwords are your first layer of protection online.

Make them long. Make them tricky. Make them yours.

And please — never use "password123" or "zoom". That’s like handing your keys to a stranger.

So the next time you make a password, remember:

You're only as safe as the password you use.

(Edited by ChatGPT, August 6, 2025)