I am a big fan of sites that tell you the relative strength of your password – rather than just let you pick out any old password, they show you the strength of your chosen password, in an attempt to guilt you into picking something stronger. But most sites just show “Weak,” “Good,” and “Strong,” and aren’t much more helpful than that. At my new favorite site How Secure is My Password?, you’re told how long it will take for a desktop PC to crack your password. For example, I learned that one of my old favorite passwords could be cracked in about 8 seconds, while my current favorite (one that will soon be changed) would be cracked in about 9 years. However, my favorite passphrase is pretty darn strong – the site tells me it will take 227 septillion years to break it. Try it out.