You know how websites have requirements for password length and complexity? Well, as annoying as it can be, they have those parameters in place for a reason. It is incredibly easy for hackers to figure out your passwords using the power of commercially available graphics cards.
Graphics cards like the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti are being used by hackers to create (relatively) affordable password cracking systems. A test run last year by servethehome.com proved that a modern system can crack a 7 character password in 9 seconds. 9 SECONDS! That’s about how long it took me to type this sentence- so basically, no time at all. And even worse, the systems that use the new NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti cards instead of the basic NVIDIA GTX 1080 cards run 25% faster.
The systems used in servethehome.com’s test used 8 of these cards (which would still be quite expensive), but the commercial availability of these graphics cards means anyone with the resources could potentially hack your accounts.
In short- hackers are evolving, and cracking passwords is easier than it’s ever been. Make your passwords more complex to keep your information and accounts safe. Even if it seems like a hassle, trust me, it’s worth it.