Password strength | Password Entropy - ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus

Password strength can be defined as the measure of immunity that passwords possess against any kind of password threat.

According to Troy Hunt, the founder of Have I Been Pwned?, passwords are here to stay—in spite of their security failings. One major reason for this is the comfort and familiarity that passwords offer. But, the weak security front of password authentication cannot be ignored, especially in this age of sophisticated attacks. This is why password strength is more relevant now than ever before.

Defining weak passwords

Verizon's 2020 Data Breach Investigation Report states that 80 percent of data breaches that involved hacking started as simple password attacks. This shows how susceptible passwords are to attack. Before we learn to make strong passwords, let's learn what we've been doing wrong.

Here are some examples of weak password practices:

Using name, username, birth year, or employee ID in your password. Since all this information is publicly available, these passwords are easy to crack.
Using common phrases like qwerty, asdfg, 12345, password, etc.
Setting passwords that are too short.
Setting passwords with patterns like jjjjj, treetree, etc.

Password entropy

Password entropy is a measure of unpredictability of a password. This is a good indicator of password strength. The higher the password entropy, the stronger the password. While setting passwords, our aim should be to maximize this parameter.

Let's take a look at some best password practices:

Enforce password history to avoid password reuse.
Set a minimum length for passwords.
While passwords are being set, check if they contain dictionary words, patterns, or usernames, partial or full.
Do not change passwords too often, as this can prove counterproductive for security.

Protect your passwords from cyberattacks with ADSelfService Plus

ADSelfService Plus is an integrated Active Directory self-service password management and single sign-on solution. It offers a password policy enforcer that can help your organization set fool-proof passwords.

With ADSelfService Plus' password policy enforcer, you can:

Set custom password policies for different groups of employees in your organization.
Decide how many characters of different types can be included in a password.
Disallow patterns, repetitions, dictionary words.
Set minimum and maximum password lengths.

Other features of ADSelfService Plus include:

Self-service password management:

Enable users to reset forgotten passwords and unlock their accounts without involving the help desk, anytime, anywhere.
Multi-factor authentication:

Secure machine logon, application logon, and VPN logon with over 15 authentication methods that can be configured in minutes.
Password synchronizer:

Sync the Windows Active Directory user password across various platforms automatically, eliminating password fatigue.
Password policy enforcer:

Ensure strong passwords that are equipped to fight dictionary attacks, brute-force attacks, and other password threats.
Directory self-update:

Allow users to update personal information in Active Directory, freeing the help desk from this daunting and repetitive task.
Single sign-on:

Implement single sign-on for over 300 major enterprise applications and custom applications from a single portal.

Password strength explained

Defining weak passwords

Here are some examples of weak password practices:

Password entropy

Let's take a look at some best password practices:

Protect your passwords from cyberattacks with ADSelfService Plus

With ADSelfService Plus' password policy enforcer, you can:

Other features of ADSelfService Plus include:

Self-service password management:

Multi-factor authentication:

Password synchronizer:

Password policy enforcer:

Directory self-update:

Single sign-on:

Experience easy and effective password management with ADSelfService Plus.

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A single pane of glass for complete self service password management