According to the book, r%Dv$ is a strong password.

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Sometimes
• D. Depends

Answer: (B)

A password’s strength mainly comes from length and unpredictability. The longer it is and the more it uses a mix of character types (uppercase, lowercase, digits, symbols) in a random way, the harder it is to crack.

r%Dv$ is only five characters long and includes lowercase, an uppercase, and symbols, but it has no digits. The short length means there aren’t many possible combinations, so an attacker can exhaust the possibilities quickly with brute-force attempts. Substituting symbols for letters doesn’t compensate for the lack of length or the overall predictability of a short string. Because of these factors, this password doesn’t meet the standards of a strong password, which is why the book marks it as not strong.