About cracking.pw - Why We Built This Password Strength Checker

This website exists for one simple reason - the curiosity of a child who wanted to understand how passwords work and why some are easier to crack than others.

It Started with a Child's Question About Password Security

My youngest son is in Year 4 at school and takes part in a programme called Digital Wizards. One day he came home buzzing with excitement because he had been learning all about passwords - how some are strong, how others are weak, and how some passwords can be cracked in seconds. It clearly stuck with him and sparked a genuine interest in cyber security.

When he tried to show me the website they had used in class, he could not remember the name. There are plenty of tools out there that will check the strength of your password, but I thought this was a perfect opportunity to teach him something bigger than just password safety.

Turning Curiosity into a Real Cyber Security Project

Rather than just finding another password checker, I decided to build one from scratch. This became a chance to introduce him to how the web actually works - things like what a domain name is, how a website lives on the internet, and how files are uploaded and served to people around the world. It was not about building something perfect. It was about explaining things to him so he grasps the basics of how the internet works.

It also opened the door to something else that matters today - how modern tools can help you build things faster and smarter.

How AI Helped Build This Password Tool

When I was creating websites back in the day, building a site meant writing everything by hand - HTML, PHP, JavaScript - then spending hours researching search engines, keywords, and how to get people to find it. Now it is a little different.

I used an AI coding assistant called Claude by Anthropic, specifically their command-line tool Claude Code. I connected it to a GitHub repository, set up webhooks, and gave it a clear task to build and deploy the site. Some people call this vibe coding, but really it is about learning how to work with tools rather than fighting them.

What This Password Checker Is - and What It Is Not

This site is a simple educational tool. It is designed to show what makes a password strong or weak in plain language, and to encourage better password habits online. It is a practical way to explain an important idea that affects everyone who uses the internet.

• It is not a hacking tool. It estimates how long a password would take to crack - it does not crack anything.
• It is not storing passwords. Everything runs in your browser. Read exactly how we keep your data private.
• It is not trying to be clever or scary. It is an honest, educational resource about password security.

The Bigger Picture - Teaching Kids About Online Safety

This website is not really about passwords. It is about learning, curiosity, and showing a child that ideas can turn into real things on the internet. It is about understanding how technology works, not just using it. And it is about showing that modern tools, including AI, can be helpers rather than shortcuts.

If it sparks interest, raises questions, or teaches one small thing about why short passwords are risky or why a password manager is worth using, then it has done its job. And if your child is curious about cyber security too, maybe building something together is the best way to learn.