Reference
Sitemap
Every page on 25th Word in one place: all our password and crypto guides, plus our reference, trust and legal pages.
Site pages
Everyday passwords
Password basics
- What is a password, and why it matters
- How long should a password be?
- Password complexity: do symbols and numbers really help?
- Password strength explained in plain words (what "entropy" means)
- What makes a password weak: the patterns attackers try first
- Passwords vs passphrases: why a few random words beat P@ssw0rd
- How to create a strong password you can remember
- Never reuse a password: what happens when one site leaks
- Password managers explained for beginners
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) explained
- From passwords to seed phrases: why crypto's "master password" is different
Password managers
- How password managers work, and why they are safe
- Best password managers (criteria-led comparison)
- Free vs paid password managers
- Saving passwords in your browser vs a password manager
- How to set up a password manager in one afternoon
- Choosing a master password (use a passphrase)
- What if my password manager gets hacked?
- Cloud vs offline password managers
- Switching password managers safely
- Emergency access and backups for your password vault
Two-factor login and passkeys
- 2FA methods compared: SMS, app, security key
- Why SMS codes are the weakest 2FA (SIM swap attacks)
- How to set up an authenticator app
- Hardware security keys explained
- What are passkeys, and will they replace passwords?
- Passkeys vs passwords vs 2FA
- Backup codes: what they are and where to keep them
- Lost your phone with 2FA on it: how to get back in
- MFA fatigue and push-bombing attacks
- Which accounts need 2FA first
Data breaches and hacked accounts
- What is a data breach, and how passwords leak
- How to check if your password was leaked
- What to do after a data breach, step by step
- My email was hacked: recovery steps
- How hackers crack passwords (brute force, dictionary, guessing)
- Credential stuffing explained
- Phishing: how fake login pages steal passwords
- Fake password reset emails and security alerts
- Keyloggers and password-stealing malware
- Signs your account has been hacked
Securing your key accounts
- Why your email account is the master key to everything
- How to secure your email account (checklist)
- Online banking passwords and security
- Securing your phone: PINs, lock screens and SIM PIN
- Social media account security
- Wi-Fi and router passwords
- Computer login passwords and disk encryption
- Security questions: treat them like passwords
- Keeping work and personal passwords apart
- Securing crypto exchange and app logins (bridge to Part 2)
Passwords for families and digital legacy
- Password safety for kids and teens
- Helping older parents with passwords
- Sharing passwords safely with family
- Should couples share passwords?
- What happens to your online accounts when you die
- Setting up legacy contacts on your accounts
- Writing a digital legacy plan (template, no passwords inside)
- Writing passwords down: when paper is actually fine
- A yearly password check-up for the whole family
Crypto secrets
What is a recovery phrase
- Seed phrase vs private key vs public key
- 12 words or 24 words: does length matter?
- What is BIP39 and how the word list works
- How one phrase controls many coins and accounts (derivation paths)
- Can someone guess my seed phrase? The maths of 2048 words
- Is a seed phrase the same across wallets? Compatibility explained
- What happens if I lose my seed phrase
How to back up a seed phrase
- How to write down a seed phrase correctly (step by step)
- Where to store a seed phrase: home, safe, deposit box compared
- Should you store a seed phrase digitally? Photos, cloud, password managers
- How many backups should you have, and where
- How to test your backup without exposing it
- Splitting a seed phrase in half: why it is a bad idea
- Hiding a seed phrase: what works and what is folklore
- Seed phrase backup checklist (printable, no words required)
Hardware wallets explained
- Do I need a hardware wallet?
- Hardware wallet vs software wallet vs exchange
- How to set up a hardware wallet safely (first-day checklist)
- How to buy a hardware wallet safely (supply chain, tampering)
- Choosing a hardware wallet: secure element, open source, air-gap
- What to do if your hardware wallet is lost, stolen or broken
- Air-gapped signing explained (QR and microSD)
- Firmware updates: when and how to update safely
- Hardware wallet PIN vs seed phrase vs passphrase: what each protects
The BIP39 passphrase (25th word)
- What is the 25th word? The BIP39 passphrase explained
- Should you use a passphrase? Pros, cons and who it suits
- How to choose a strong passphrase you will not forget
- How to back up a passphrase (and why never next to the seed)
- Hidden wallets and decoy wallets with a passphrase
- Passphrase vs PIN vs password: clearing up the confusion
- Forgot your passphrase: what is and is not recoverable
- Passphrase typos, case and spaces: common mistakes
Advanced setups: multisig and Shamir
- What is multisig and when it beats a single seed
- Multisig vs passphrase: which extra protection to pick
- Shamir backups (SLIP39) explained
- Shamir vs multisig
- Generating a seed with dice (verifiable entropy)
- Geographic distribution of backups: designing for fire, theft and travel
- Encrypting a seed backup: methods and risks
Crypto threats and scams
- Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your seed phrase
- Common seed phrase scams (fake support, fake apps, airdrops)
- Wallet drainer and phishing sites: how they work
- My seed phrase was exposed: what to do in the next hour
- Pre-generated seed phrase scams (scratch cards, gifted devices)
- Physical threats: burglary, $5 wrench attacks, and duress
- Malware, clipboard hijackers and screen recorders
- Recovery services: which are scams and which are legitimate
Crypto inheritance and recovery
- How to pass crypto to your family without exposing it today
- Writing a crypto inheritance letter (template, no secrets inside)
- Crypto in a will: what lawyers need and what they must not hold
- Inheriting crypto: a guide for family members
- Restoring a wallet from a seed phrase on a new device
- Restoring an old wallet: finding the right derivation path
- A yearly backup health check