Skip to main content

Security & Generators

Secure password generators and cryptographic tools to protect your data. Generate strong passwords, UUIDs, and SSH keys with industry-standard algorithms.

Available Tools

lock

Password Generator

Create secure random passwords

Digital security guide

Digital security has become essential in our connected world. From passwords to unique identifiers, understanding the basics of cybersecurity helps you protect your personal and professional data against growing threats.

The anatomy of a strong password

A secure password is your first line of defense. The characteristics of a good password:

  • Length: minimum 12 characters, ideally 16 or more
  • Complexity: mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
  • Uniqueness: a different password for each account
  • Unpredictability: avoid dictionary words, birth dates, names

Entropy measures password strength. A 12-character password with all character types has about 78 bits of entropy, requiring billions of years to crack by brute force.

Our generator creates cryptographically random passwords that are impossible to guess.

GUID and UUID: unique identifiers

GUIDs (Globally Unique Identifiers) and UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers) are standardized 128-bit identifiers used to uniquely identify resources.

Format: 8-4-4-4-12 hexadecimal characters Example: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Common versions:

  • UUID v1: based on timestamp and MAC address
  • UUID v4: randomly generated (most commonly used)
  • UUID v5: based on SHA-1 hash of a namespace and name

With 2^122 possibilities for UUID v4, the probability of collision is infinitesimal. They are used in databases, APIs, distributed systems, and anywhere a unique identifier is needed.

Cryptographic hash functions

A hash function transforms data of any size into a fixed-size fingerprint:

Essential properties:

  • Deterministic: same input = same output
  • Fast to compute
  • Irreversible: impossible to recover input from hash
  • Collision-resistant: difficult to find two inputs with the same hash

Common algorithms:

  • MD5 (128 bits): obsolete for security, still used for checksums
  • SHA-1 (160 bits): deprecated, vulnerable to collisions
  • SHA-256 (256 bits): current standard, used in Bitcoin
  • SHA-3 (variable): modern alternative to SHA-2

Uses: file integrity verification, secure password storage, digital signatures.

Security best practices

Protect yourself with these essential measures:

  • Use a password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, etc.)
  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible
  • Never reuse the same password
  • Beware of phishing: always verify URLs and senders
  • Regularly update your software
  • Use a VPN on public networks
  • Regularly backup your data

Security is an ongoing process, not a destination. Stay informed about new threats and adapt your practices.

Encoding vs encryption

These two concepts are often confused but have different objectives:

Encoding (Base64, URL, etc.):

  • Purpose: represent data in a different format
  • Reversible by design
  • No secret key
  • Use: data transmission, compatibility

Encryption:

  • Purpose: protect data confidentiality
  • Reversible only with the key
  • Requires a secret key
  • Use: protecting sensitive data

Important: Base64 encoding is NOT a security method. Anyone can decode it. To protect data, use real encryption (AES, RSA).

Random number generation

The quality of randomness is crucial in cryptography:

PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator):

  • Deterministic algorithms that produce apparently random sequences
  • Fast but predictable if the seed is known
  • Use: games, simulations

CSPRNG (Cryptographically Secure PRNG):

  • Use hardware entropy sources
  • Unpredictable even if internal state is partially known
  • Use: key generation, passwords, UUIDs

Our tools use the Web Crypto API (crypto.getRandomValues()) which provides cryptographically secure numbers via the operating system.

Common password attacks

Understanding attacks helps protect against them:

→ Protection: long passwords

  • Brute force: trying all possible combinations

→ Protection: avoid dictionary words

  • Dictionary: trying common words and their variations

→ Protection: use a unique salt

  • Rainbow tables: precomputed hash tables

→ Protection: vigilance, 2FA

  • Phishing: tricking users into revealing passwords

→ Protection: unique passwords per site

  • Credential stuffing: using stolen credentials from other sites

A 16-character random password resists all these attacks for millennia with current technology.

Secure password storage

How services should store your passwords:

  • Never in plain text
  • Hashed with a modern algorithm (bcrypt, Argon2, scrypt)
  • With a unique salt per user
  • With a high cost factor (slows down attacks)

Verification process: hash(provided_password + salt) = stored_hash?

If a service can send you your password in plain text, run: they're not storing it securely.

Password managers use strong encryption (AES-256) with your master password as the key. Only you can decrypt your vault.